Yesterday, lawyers for Michael Irvin shared that hotel chain Marriott has yet to share the video of the NFL Network analyst’s interaction with a woman in an Arizona hotel that led to him being suspended by the outlet, even after a court ordered the surrender more than two weeks ago.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio — a former attorney by trade — told 105.3 The Fan’s Shan & RJ that Irvin has to feel exonerated by what he has seen in the video, and that NFL Network could be subject to further litigation from the Pro Football Hall of Famer, should he choose to go down that route.
“Somebody overreacted,” Florio said. “Somebody instigated, with NFL Network, a complaint that got Michael Irvin pulled from the Super Bowl week coverage. And the one fact that I think is very important here: Marriott is a longtime sponsor of the NFL.
“My guess is that the NFL was willing to jump when they got a complaint from ‘Proud Sponsor of the NFL’, and this is what you learn in the discovery process: How high up the chain at Marriott did this go? How high were the alarms sounded? How high up NFL Network’s ladder did it go? NFL Network may have some liability here if Michael Irvin chooses to pursue it.”
Florio continued by stating that Irvin is likely entitled to some compensation after being removed from the network’s coverage of the Super Bowl prematurely.
“It sure feels like somebody dramatically overreacted based on the representation of what’s in that video and the accounts of the eyewitnesses that Michael Irvin had participate yesterday…I feel horrible for Michael Irvin because I feel like somebody made a rash decision, acted on it prematurely, and now the question is can the legal process be engineered in a way that gets him a fair amount of compensation for what he — by all appearances — endured.”
During the news conference yesterday, Irvin lamented his inability to defend himself due to Marriott’s refusal to turn over a copy of the video.
“It just blows my mind that I have no opportunity to defend myself. I don’t even know what I’m defending,” said Irvin. “To not listen to the court, Marriott is above the law. I still haven’t seen this tape.”
