Michael Irvin’s TV return may be delayed, but the ice on his career is thawing
Michael Irvin #MichaelIrvin
FRISCO — Michael Irvin’s return from television obscurity is nearing an end.
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 filed a $100 million lawsuit, which is still pending, against the Marriott hotel chain proclaiming his innocence.
Irvin’s absence from television was scheduled to end Saturday when the Cowboys host 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 will delay Irvin’s return to TV.
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Irvin didn’t return multiple calls seeking comment for this story. His attorney, Dallas-based Levi McCathern, declined to comment.
With football season starting this fall, however, the ice on Irvin’s television career seems to be thawing. Skip Bayless of Fox Sports 1 announced Irvin will appear as one of the panelists for the new season of his Undisputed debate show starting Monday. The network confirmed Irvin’s new role over the weekend.
Irvin has attempted to resurrect his television career with the help of Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. Returning to Fox Sports is the first sign of another comeback by Irvin, who has had numerous legal issues as a broadcaster since his retirement from football in 1999.
Loyalty, however, keeps Irvin closely connected with the Cowboys.
“He deserves it,” Jones told The Dallas Morning News about Irvin’s return to TV. “He’s earned it. He’s a friend and he has been loyal to me. Very loyal to me. I need reciprocity.”
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Jones laughed when using the word reciprocity, without going into further details about his own public legal entanglements in the past.
And like Jones, Irvin doesn’t hide from public view despite the criticism.
In July, Irvin made his first paid public appearance at SportsCon in Dallas, a massive autograph show also attended by former Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, defensive tackle Bob Lilly, Cowboys 2023 first-round pick Mazi Smith, former Mavericks players Derek Harper and Josh Howard and former Rangers player Rafael Palmeiro, among other sports celebrities.
Irvin also attends The Potter’s House Church in southern Dallas and sits in a VIP area of the sanctuary with his family. When former Cowboys and Broncos pass rusher DeMarcus Ware was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this month, Irvin attended the ceremony. He also continues to endorse products, including Fun Town RV, a recreational vehicle dealership. Irvin even posted an Instagram video from a barbershop in Carrollton making fun of his barber. This week, Irvin spoke to the Colorado football team because of his close relationship with Hall of Fame cornerback and former Cowboys player Deion Sanders.
Irvin is a playful, passionate person. It’s one of the reasons he’s beloved by Cowboys fans and Jones. But the latest incident from Super Bowl week was a detriment to his career, considering his past legal problems.
“I was hurt and pained by it,” said Darren Woodson, another of Irvin’s former teammates and friends. “Of course, I was frustrated by the fact one of my teammates was on a video and in the way it just happened. It pissed me off the way it unfolded and how they handled the situation. But also spoke to me like Mike’s got to clean his s— up and that’s how brothers talk to each other. That’s how we talk to each other. We can’t put ourselves in those situations. You just can’t regardless.”
While a player with the Cowboys, Irvin was suspended for five games in 1996 after pleading no contest to felony cocaine possession. There were also accusations of sexual assault. During his broadcast career, Irvin was accused of rape in a 2010 civil suit from an incident that occurred in 2007. Just before his contract with an ESPN-owned Dallas radio station ended, he was taken off the air. Irvin has been cleared of numerous other charges, in some cases filing a countersuit against the accuser.
Irvin, however, continues to receive chances to return to the airwaves despite the legal issues.
“He knew this was probably his last opportunity with NFL Network,” said Nate Newton, a friend and former teammate with the Cowboys. “Mike knew he couldn’t have his name in any scandal, wrong or right. Mike is like a cat. You can put Mike on a marble table and he’ll still land on his feet. He’s got 18,000 lives.”
Irvin’s path in broadcasting has taken a rocky turn at times, yet another return is surfacing.
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