Michael Irvin Under Investigation for Alleged Sexual Assault in Florida

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin is under investigation for sexual assault in Florida, the Fort Lauderdale police department confirmed Wednesday. While the department is not releasing details from what it calls an ongoing investigation, a department spokesperson said in a statement that Irvin was named in an incident report for a sexual battery investigation.

According to TMZ, which broke the story Wednesday, a 27-year-old woman filed the report following an encounter with Irvin at the W Hotel. A “law enforcement source” tells the tabloid that Irvin and the woman returned to his hotel room after meeting at a bar. The woman, according to TMZ, told police that she began to feel sick, and the last thing she remembers is fighting Irvin off. She woke up with Irvin preparing to leave the room and check out, leaving her behind, before taking an Uber home and calling police at 7:30 a.m. on March 22.

Later, according to TMZ, the woman texted Irvin, asking if the two had sex. Irvin replied that he’d “never do anything to hurt her,” the woman told police.

Irvin’s Dallas-based attorney, Larry Friedman, did not return the Observer’s request for comment, but he denied the woman’s allegation’s against Irvin to USA Today.

“Michael steadfastly denies anything happened,” Friedman said. “There was no sexual assault. Michael has been a client of mine for 15 or 20 years, and he’s always been candid with me. He’s being candid with me now.”

Wednesday’s allegations aren’t the first time Irvin has been connected to a sexual assault. In 2011, the NFL Network analyst reached a settlement in a Miami federal court with a woman who accused him of sexual battery in 2007. In 1997, Irvin was infamously falsely accused of sexual assault by Nina Shahravan, who ended up spending 90 days in jail for filing a false report.