Michael Irvin reaches settlement in defamation lawsuit, will return to NFL Network

Michael Irvin made his NFL Network return Sunday after settling his $100 million defamation lawsuit against Marriott, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.

Irvin in turn appeared on “NFL GameDay Morning” after being suspended by the network since February after a woman, who worked at a Phoenix-area Marriott-owned hotel, accused the Pro Football Hall of Fame wideout of making lewd comments and touching her without her consent.

Surveillance video shows Irvin and the woman having a conversation, though there’s no audio. Irvin said the conversation started because the employee asked him about what shows he was on. He said they talked football. But Irvin also conceded he’d consumed several drinks.

The employee said Irvin was “aggressive in nature,” and appeared to be “visibly intoxicated,” per court documents filed by Marriott. She described the conversation as being sexual in nature. Irvin allegedly “reached out and touched the victim’s arm during this conversation without her consent, causing her to step back, becoming visibly uncomfortable.” The Marriott response said that Irvin then asked the employee whether she knew anything about having a “big Black man inside of [her].”

Irvin denied all of the allegations.

The incident resulted in NFL Network removing Irvin from its Super Bowl coverage, and keeping him on the sidelines for NFL Draft coverage. The network notably omitted Irvin, 57, from its list of contributors for the 2023 season this past week.

Michael Irvin resumes broadcasting career after hotel incident

Irvin’s broadcasting career has resumed of late, joining fellow former NFL stars Keyshawn Johnson and Richard Sherman alongside Skip Bayless on the retooled “Undisputed.” The show underwent major changes to the format after Shannon Sharpe left FS1 earlier this summer.

The Dallas Cowboys legend wasted no time in making headlines, predicting that “America’s Team” will hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season. A Super Bowl victory would be the Cowboys’ first since 1996.

“I prayed hard this offseason and God said, ‘I shall bless you for this turmoil,’” Irvin said. “He said, ‘For the suffering, I will give you some great days’… ‘Your latter days will be better than your former days’ … My latter days will be coming in February when the Cowboys go to the Super Bowl and play the Cincinnati Bengals.”