Stephen A. Smith hasn’t had a full-time «First Take» co-host with him since Max Kellerman left the show, but he has a candidate in mind.
Michael Irvin has been removed from NFL Network’s coverage of the 2023 Super Bowl after alleged misconduct with a woman at a Phoenix hotel.
Irvin says he did nothing improper and filed a $100 million lawsuit against the employee and Marriott.
In any case, Irvin is a free agent and Smith has him at the top of his list of potential co-hosts.
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Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin of the Dallas Cowboys watches a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams at CenturyLink Field on October 3, 2019 in Seattle. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
«There’s not much on this planet Earth that I wouldn’t do for Michael Irvin. That’s my brother. I love him to death, and I think he makes great television. And I would never ever sit there and tell someone that I love anyone else.» than Michael Irvin,» Smith said on his podcast.
«It’s just that the things that are happening are out of my control. Whether it’s the NFL, NFL Network, ESPN, I don’t know. And I don’t have any control over that. That’s beyond my salary level.» .»
Irvin’s attorneys released surveillance footage of the interaction with the employee. Initially, the two shook hands before entering the hotel bar, and throughout the conversation, Irvin appeared to nudge her twice.
Irvin and the clerk shook hands again, and she went back into the bar. A few seconds later, Irvin appeared to slap himself three times before walking to the front entrance to take a selfie with someone, then back into the lobby.
The video does not provide audio, but Marriott claims that a «visibly intoxicated» Irvin made the employee «visibly uncomfortable» and asked her a sexually explicit question.
Michael Irvin attends the 2022 Harold and Carole Pump Foundation Gala at The Beverly Hilton on August 19, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
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Irvin and Marriott differ on the context of the conversation. Marriott says Irvin used sexually disturbing conversation, but the Hall of Famer says the conversation was never inappropriate.
«This makes me sick because, in this great country, this takes me back to a time when a white woman would accuse a black man of something, and they would take a bunch of guys who were above the law, put them in a barn, they would put a rope around his foot and drag him through the mud and hang him from the tree,» Irvin said. «Not a thought about what would happen, not an investigation, not after repeated attempts by people trying to go and say, ‘Guys, this is what really happened.’
«How can I defend myself if I don’t even know what I’m defending myself against?» she added. «I’m surprised that in 2023 we’re still dragging and hanging brothers from a tree. I’m surprised I don’t get a chance to defend, I don’t even know what I’m defending.»
NFL Network’s Michael Irvin during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 3, 2022 in Indianapolis. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
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TO pair of witnesses said there was nothing inappropriate about the interaction, with one saying it was «super friendly.»
Irvin hasn’t been on the air since February.