Michael Irvin returns to NFL Network following settlement with Marriott

Michael Irvin, former NFL player, returns to NFL Network's coverage after settling a defamation lawsuit against a woman and Marriott.

On February 3, 2019, during Super Bowl LIII between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA, Michael Irvin, the Hall of Fame wide receiver, was seen laughing on NFL Network. However, since then, he had been absent from the network's coverage. But now, he is officially back in his usual seat on "NFL GameDay Morning" for Week 1.

The reason for Irvin's absence was due to a sexual misconduct allegation made against him by a female employee at a Marriott-branded hotel in Phoenix. The alleged incident occurred on February 5. Irvin has consistently maintained his innocence, stating that he simply had a conversation with the woman and did nothing wrong.

In response to the accusation, Irvin filed a defamation lawsuit against the woman and the hotel, seeking $100 million in damages. His attorney successfully obtained a motion to release hotel video footage of the interaction, which was made available in March. Although the video did not have audio, it showed Irvin engaging in a conversation with the accuser for about 2 minutes, without any physical contact.

According to reports from the Dallas Morning News, Irvin has now reached a settlement in his lawsuit with Marriott. Additionally, two witnesses who witnessed the interaction between Irvin and the woman stated that it was friendly and filled with laughter.

In recent news, Irvin has also agreed to a deal to become one of the rotating co-hosts on FOX Sports 1's "Undisputed," alongside Skip Bayless. It seems that for now, he will be working on both FOX and NFL Network.