What we know about Michael Irvin’s suspension, return to TV with Fox Sports, NFL Network

Michael Irvin returned to the NFL Network on Sunday, the first week of the season, after reaching a settlement in his $100 million defamation lawsuit against Marriott, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Dallas Morning News.

The three-time Super Bowl champion’s first television appearance since February, when a woman at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown accused him of making lewd comments, came on Aug. 28 on Fox Sports 1′s Undisputed.

Here’s what we know about the situation involving the former Cowboys receiver and Pro Football Hall of Famer and his return to television:

Sept. 10: Irvin settles lawsuit, returns to NFL Network

NFL Media, the entity that manages NFL Network, lifted its indefinite suspension of Irvin after he reportedly reached a settlement with the Marriott hotel chain. Terms were not disclosed.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee’s hiatus from the network lasted more than seven months, as Irvin last worked Opening Night for the Super Bowl on Feb. 6 in Phoenix.

Aug. 28: Irvin returns to television

Irvin has returned from television obscurity.

Skip Bayless of Fox Sports 1 introduced Irvin, along with former NFL players Richard Sherman and Keyshawn Johnson, as the panelists for the new season of his Undisputed debate show on Monday.

For the past six months, the Cowboys Hall of Fame receiver has been suspended from NFL Network and ESPN after being accused of making inappropriate comments toward a female employee of a Phoenix hotel days before February’s Super Bowl.

Irvin’s $100 million lawsuit against the Marriott hotel chain proclaiming his innocence is still pending.

Irvin’s absence from television was scheduled to end when the Cowboys hosted the Las Vegas Raiders in the final preseason game. After the Aug. 19 preseason game in Seattle, announcer Bill Jones said on the broadcast Irvin would work the Raiders contest. But according to a team spokesperson, a production change to reduce the three-man booth to a two-person operation delayed Irvin’s return to TV.

April: Irvin remains suspended, won’t take part in NFL Network draft coverage

Michael Irvin won’t be part of the NFL’s extensive draft coverage as the former Cowboys star remains embroiled in the fallout of an encounter that took place at this year’s Super Bowl.

The league sent out a release Wednesday detailing the more than 75 hours of content the NFL Network will broadcast over the course of next week for one of its signature events. Irvin’s name was not included in the long list of contributors.

When asked to clarify Irvin’s status, Alex Riethmiller, the NFL media vice president of communications, said the Hall of Fame receiver “remains suspended.’’

Irvin was part of the NFL Draft Kickoff Show last year, interviewing prospects on the red carpet along with Melissa Stark. That role will be filled solely by Stark this year.

March 19: Witnesses still back Irvin after video release

Six weeks have passed since Michael Irvin walked into a hotel bar in Arizona. Bryn Davis, Joe Manuele and Phil Watkins sat at a high-top table in the Dust Cutter inside Renaissance Phoenix Downtown when the former Cowboys wide receiver entered Feb. 5 shortly before 11 p.m. He wore light gray jeans and a tight-fitting gray T-shirt and held a black leather jacket.

Davis and Manuele recognized him immediately.

They gave Watkins, an Australian unfamiliar with American football, brief background on Irvin’s career as an athlete and broadcaster. Through a waitress, they offered to buy Irvin a drink. He declined but soon engaged them in conversation.

The three men were the final people with whom Irvin interacted before he met a female hotel staffer. The latter conversation led to a sexual harassment complaint against Irvin, his indefinite suspension from NFL Network, and a defamation lawsuit Irvin refiled last week against Marriott, the Renaissance Hotel Operating Company, his accuser and three other Renaissance employees.

March 10: Marriott releases details of woman’s accusation against Michael Irvin

For the first time, Marriott unveiled specific details about a female employee’s accusation against Michael Irvin in a hotel-lobby conversation that occurred in Phoenix last month, the account portraying the former Cowboys wide receiver’s actions as a drunken and at times aggressive flirtation that included a lewd comment.

Marriott disclosed the account in a motion filed in federal court. According to the document, which The Dallas Morning News obtained, Irvin “flagged down” the woman, who is a staffer at Renaissance Phoenix Downtown, on Feb. 5 while she walked from the lobby’s bar area in the normal course of her job.

March 10: Judge lambasts Marriott lawyers, allows Irvin hotel video to go public

A federal judge on March 10 said Marriott “blatantly” violated his order to give Michael Irvin video recordings related to the former Cowboys wide receiver’s Feb. 5 hotel encounter with a woman in Arizona, delivering a follow-up order as punishment that allows the public to view the footage.

Marriott was required to send an unredacted video of the incident to Irvin’s representation by 5 p.m. March 10. No protective order was placed over the recording despite Marriott’s request in court Friday for one, effectively allowing the video’s release.

“That’s the penalty you face,” U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant said Friday to a Marriott attorney.

March 8: Irvin offers emotional rebuke of accusations, likens incident to civil rights era

Irvin became visibly emotional at a news briefing on March 8 when addressing a Feb. 5 incident involving a female hotel staffer in Arizona, at one point calling the situation “sickening” and likening it to civil rights injustices.

Irvin, his attorney Levi McCathern and his agent Steve Mandell did not take questions from reporters during the 25-minute session, which was held at a conference room in an Oak Lawn building where McCathern’s office is located. New details revealed about the case were limited in scope.

Irvin seeks $100 million in damages from Marriott for defamation and tortious interference in a business relationship after a woman complained about an encounter with him at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown hotel. In response, NFL Network and ESPN canceled Irvin’s scheduled television appearances during Super Bowl week.

Few specifics about the woman’s harassment complaint have been made public. Marriott has declined or not responded to several requests for comment from The Dallas Morning News, including on Wednesday following charged statements from Irvin.

His tone varied from anger to at one point appearing to fight back tears.

Feb. 16: Judge ordered Marriott to provide video

A judge ordered Marriott to provide Irvin’s legal team with all video records and other information related to a female hotel employee’s complaint, according to court records.

The judge ordered Marriott to submit details that include all video recordings, written reports and witness statements that Marriott gathered involving Irvin and his stay at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel. The company also must provide the name and contact information of anyone offended by Irvin’s conduct along with any employees and managers who contacted the NFL about his conduct.

Feb. 10: Irvin filed a $100M defamation lawsuit

According to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Collin County, Irvin is seeking more than $100 million in damages after he says Marriott International and a female employee in Phoenix defamed him and wrongfully interfered with a business relationship.

A Marriott spokesperson did not return multiple requests for comment Friday.

The lawsuit stated Irvin was “shockingly woken up by a crew of security” and removed from the property “without any explanation or questions.”

Feb. 8: Irvin was pulled off the air by NFL Network and ESPN

After working Opening Night coverage Monday, Irvin didn’t make any of his scheduled NFL Network or ESPN appearances after a woman complained about his conduct during an encounter Sunday evening in an Arizona hotel lobby.

He described the interaction to The Dallas Morning News as a brief, public and largely non-physical encounter. He said he engaged in no physical contact with the woman beyond a handshake when they parted ways.

Irvin works for NFL Media but also makes guest appearances on ESPN. Neither organization commented on the exact nature of the woman’s accusation.

“Michael Irvin will not be a part of NFL Network’s Super Bowl LVII week coverage,” said Alex Riethmiller, NFL Media vice president of communications, in a statement.

The interaction in question, Irvin told The News, occurred last Sunday in Phoenix, near the site of Super Bowl LVII, following dinner and drinks with former Cowboys safety Michael Brooks. Irvin returned to the hotel at which he was staying and struck up a conversation there with a woman.

“Honestly, I’m a bit baffled with it all,” Irvin said. “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.

“We shook hands. Then, I left. … That’s all I know.”

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