Michael Irvin is in Phoenix for Super Bowl LVII, but he won’t be contributing to any NFL Network programming after a woman made an unspecified complaint at a hotel.
Andrew Marchand and Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post were first to report the breaking news as NFL Network spokesman Alex Reithmiller confirmed to the Post, “Michael Irvin will not be part of the NFL Network’s Super LVII week coverage.”
Surprisingly, Irvin continued to make radio appearances Wednesday morning, albeit via phone rather than being in attendance on media row. But after being sent home from NFL Network’s Super Bowl coverage, Irvin called into the Shan & RJ morning show on 105.3 the Fan in Dallas to recount his side of the story.
Unaware of the situation that was unfolding, hosts Shan Shariff and RJ Choppy started the interview by inviting Irvin to join them for dinner while the three of them were in Phoenix for the Super Bowl. But Irvin informed them he was in hiding because there was a lot going on.
“Sunday night, and this is tripping me out,” Irvin began. “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?’”
“So they moved my hotel, and I said, ‘What’s going on guys? What’s happening? Why are are we moving hotels?’ 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 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.”
The radio hosts reacted with surprise because this interview occurred before the incident was reported by the Post or anyone else.
“That’s why I’m kind of hiding to wait and see how everything comes down,” Irvin continued. “It was a minute meeting somewhere in the lobby. I don’t even remember it really because I had a few drinks, to tell you the truth.”
Irvin told the Dallas Morning News that the only physical interaction with the woman was a handshake. However, Irvin also stated he does not remember the incident because he was drinking and has not seen the video.
[New York Post, 105.3 The Fan]
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com