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Former Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irving and his legal team released a Hall of Fame video they hope to meet with Marriott employees in February to clear up allegations against the player and sue the hotel chain for $100 million. A prepared presentation Tuesday highlighted 20 points ahead of the video, raising questions about the events that ultimately led to Irving being kicked out of the hotel and canceling his Super Bowl week performance.
The clerk accused Owen of making unwelcome advances during a conversation in the hotel lobby, including making lewd comments and saying he would find her later. Details were only announced last Friday. Irwin retaliated shortly after the Feb. 5 encounter, suing Marriott for defamation and tortious interference with business relationships. He moved the $100 million lawsuit from federal court in Texas to state court in Arizona on Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s news conference.
Marriott’s first public release of information about the incident paints a picture of a drunken Irving trying to pick up the woman at the Renaissance Phoenix Hotel while the two were talking near the hotel’s lobby bar.
Watch a video of the Michael Irving Marriott event
“During this conversation, Owen even reached out and touched the victim’s arm without her consent, causing her to back off and become visibly uncomfortable,” Marriott’s attorney Nathan Chapman wrote in the filing. “Owen then asked the victim if she knew she had a ‘big black man’ inside her. The victim was appalled by Owen’s comments, to which she responded that his comments were inappropriate and she did not wish to discuss them further.
“Then Owen tried to hold the victim’s hand again and said he ‘I’m sorry if this brought up a bad memory for her.’” The victim pulled her hand away and tried to get closer to her as Owen continued. pull him away.
“Nonsense,” McCarthern said in a statement to the news Friday. “Marriott’s recent report contradicts all eyewitness accounts and Michael’s own testimony, as well as common sense.” Before viewing the video on Tuesday, McCarthern questioned the women’s motives for speaking to the wide receiver, describing it as an attempt to Intercept players and get their attention.
The three minutes and 10 seconds of silent video shows the employee and Irvin standing around the hotel bar chatting. On first viewing, Irvin’s legal team commented on the video and offered different explanations for the body language shown. The conversation appears to have lasted approximately 1 minute and 45 seconds.
In the video, Irving’s employees appear engaged as they enter the bar area 31 seconds into the video. The couple shook hands, then moved about two feet away from the bar as they talked. Owen touched her left arm with his right hand at 1:44, and as they continued talking, the woman took a step back, leaving them about two feet apart. They then seemed to be laughing, shook hands at 2:20, and another employee approached, paused, then approached seconds after the conversation had ended. Owen looked back at the bar and punched himself three times, seemingly jokingly, before the clerk took a selfie with Owen near the outer door at 2:48.
Irvin and the second employee went back to the lobby to talk and parted ways at 3:08.
