Troy Aikman discusses how to manage the personality of Michael Irvin

As the leader of the Dallas Cowboys and the team’s starting quarterback Troy Aikman’s job often entailed managing some of the biggest personalities in the game – perhaps none bigger than Michael Irvin.

Discussing Irvin’s battles with another monster personality – Deion Sanders – Aikman revealed how he went about trying to manage the Cowboys receiver’s competitive nature. The former Dallas quarterback shared an example on the Dan Patrick Show this week.

“Oh yeah, there would be… he’d draw coverage, of course, there’d be two, sometimes three guys, on him,” Aikman said. “The guys called me Roy, he’d say ‘Roy, you gotta throw it up to me, give me chance!’ I said, ‘Michael, I’m not throwing it into triple coverage.’ But him, like all of them, the great ones, they always feel like they have a chance, that’s what makes them great.”

Irvin’s exuberant personality and strong opinions helped him land a role as a sports commentator following his career on the field.

The former first-rounder hasn’t been active in his role with NFL Network or ESPN since the leadup to the 2023 Super Bowl, however. He has been in hot water for allegedly verbally harassing a female Marriott employee in the week before the Super Bowl. He was subsequently removed from the coverage team.

Irvin now has a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Marriott and his harassment accuser whch he re-filed in Arizona in March. The initial lawsuit was filed in Collin County, Texas, but the February incident occurred in Phoenix.

Irvin seeking $100 million from Marriott in defamation suit

In the motion filed by Marriott representatives, they laid out what the female employee told her superiors about the encounter with Irvin before the NFL Network analyst was removed from his room and, subsequently, Super Bowl week coverage.

Irvin allegedly “flagged down” the woman, told her he found her attractive and shook her hand. The handshake was one of four physical touches the former wideout’s lawyer described in a press conference on Wednesday after he viewed the footage.

“Irvin also reached out and touched the Victim’s arm during this conversation without her consent, causing her to step back, becoming visibly uncomfortable,” Marriott attorney Nathan Chapman wrote in the motion, acquired by DMN. “Irvin then asked the Victim whether she knew anything about having a ‘big Black man inside of [her].’ Taken aback by Irvin’s comments, the Victim responded that his comments were inappropriate, and she did not wish to discuss it further.

“Irvin then attempted to grab the Victim’s hand again and said he was ‘sorry if he brought up bad memories’ for her.’ The Victim pulled her hand away and tried to back away from Irvin as he continued to move towards her.”

Irvin revealed the footage of the incident at a press conference. As the video has no audio, it doesn’t confirm either the woman’s account of what Irvin said to her or his side of the encounter.

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