Cowboys legend Michael Irvin axed from Super Bowl coverage after misconduct complaint
By Jerry Trotta
Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin is no longer covering the Super Bowl for NFL Network following allegations of misconduct at a hotel Sunday, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
“Michael Irvin will not be a part of NFL Network’s Super Bowl LVII week coverage,” NFL Media vice president of communications Alex Riethmiller said in a statement to the Dallas Morning News.
Irvin told the Dallas Morning News he doesn’t recall any issues from the encounter with the woman who reportedly lodged the complaint. Irvin added that they only shook hands and spoke for less than a minute in the lobby before they went their separate ways.
“Honestly, I’m a bit baffled with it all,” Irvin told Gehlken. “This all happened in a 45-second conversation in the lobby. When I got back after going out . . . I came into the lobby, and I talked to somebody. I talked to this girl. I don’t know her, and I talked to her for about 45 seconds.”
Irvin later told 105.3 The Fan that he was instructed to change hotels following the complaint, but was unaware of the means for his relocation.
Irvin has been scrapped from NFL Network’s coverage of the Super Bowl, and won’t make his Friday guest appearance on ESPN’s “First Take.”
Update: Cowboys WR Michael Irvin will no longer make his Friday guest appearance on First Take, an ESPN spokesperson said. Irvin won’t be involved in NFL Network or ESPN’s Super Bowl coverage this week following brief exchange with woman in hotel lobby. https://t.co/7r9DWpbiew https://t.co/spd5E81K6T
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) February 8, 2023
Former Cowboys WR Michael Irvin pulled from Super Bowl coverage after misconduct complaint.
Here’s what Irvin told 105.3 The Fan.
"“When I came into the hotel, they asked what I did and I said, ‘I just went straight to the room,. But I guess I had met somebody in the lobby. Talked to somebody in the lobby for about a minute and then I went to my room. And then after I got up there, they said they had to move me in the hotel. I said, ‘Move me in the hotel for what?’“They said, ‘Well, last night you walked in, you talked to somebody.’ I said, ‘I didn’t talk to anybody. I went straight to the room.’ And then they showed it on camera that I did talk to somebody. I talked to this girl for about a minute. I don’t know what — they didn’t show it to me. They told it to me. I didn’t see it. But that’s why they moved me, because I guess the girl said I said something to her within that minute that we talked, and so they moved me.”"
Irvin admittedly doesn’t recall the context of his conversation with the woman. The Hall of Fame wide receiver admitted to having a few drinks, which may or may not have hindered his memory of the interaction.
“I don’t really recall that conversation, to tell you the truth,” Irvin said, per the Morning News. “We were out drinking. It was just a friendly conversation: ‘What’s up?’ I don’t even know. … I am totally perplexed.”
Michael Irvin spoke about being involved in an incident at an Arizona hotel when he joined @1053SS, @rjchoppy and @BobbyBeltTX earlier Wednesday https://t.co/wEsiJwIcxC
— 105.3 The FAN (@1053thefan) February 8, 2023
Irvin insisted there was nothing physical about the encounter.
“What law did I break?” Irvin said. “There was definitely nothing physical. . . . That’s honestly all that happened. Nobody was in my room. It was a 45-second conversation in the lobby, a handshake and we left. . . . I don’t know. I don’t know what this is, and it’s running me crazy.”
A spokesperson for the Glendale Police told the Dallas Morning News they had zero knowledge of an incident involving Irvin.
Irvin has been an analyst for NFL Network since 2009, and has been a regular guest on ESPN’s “First Take” throughout the NFL season.
