Police Clear Michael Irvin of Sexual Assault Charges
SLATER SCOOP: Michael Irvin sexual assault case has been thrown out. https://t.co/QGmUjHx9cJ pic.twitter.com/qr0jjBN7Kd
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) July 24, 2017
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Source – Former University of Miami and Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin has been cleared of a possible sexual assault charge.
I have exclusively learned that the Broward County State Attorney’s Office had a lack of evidence against Irvin.
Prosecutors found no likelihood of a conviction against the Hall of Famer.
Irvin strongly denied any wrongdoing during an alleged incident in March at a Fort Lauderdale Hotel.
To repeat what I said when this story first broke back in late March, I’m not going to pretend that I’m unbiased when it comes to Michael Irvin. I like the guy. A lot. When I was at WEEI we did a weekly phone interview with him and he was funny, insightful, self-effacing and hilarious. Not only that, but I think he truly is one of the rare guys who was able to face his demons and conquer them and he’s to be admired for it.
So I admit it’s hard for me to be neutral about the guy. But at the same time, there’s no room for rooting interest when it comes to something as heinous as sexual assault. The people who defend, say, Bill Cosby because the like him on TV are the worst kind of enabling monsters. So all I could do was pin my hopes on the facts of the case exonerating the Playmaker, and they apparently have.
To review,this is from the initial TMZ report:
She told cops she feared she was drugged and raped. She was advised to go to a medical lab for a swab and a blood test, which she did.She says she also texted Michael, asking him if they had sex. She says he responded that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.
Our sources say Michael, now an analyst at NFL Network, tells a very different story. … Michael says he had an early flight, was in the room for only 15 minutes and had no sexual contact with the woman. He also says another male was present.
He says the woman — a cosmetologist — texted him a day later saying, “Come for a facial when you get back to Ft. Lauderdale.”
The crucial part of this to me is that this woman did things the right way. Called the police. Did the rape kit. So that if Irvin was lying about there being no sexual contact at all, the police would have him dead to rights. And by handling this the way she did, spared everyone the nightmare scenario of a he said/she said situation where he gets labeled a rapist and she gets called a liar, gender politics takes over and the truth never comes out.
I haven’t the first clue what went on in that hotel room. And there’s zero upside to speculating. All any of us know is that Michael Irvin publicly denied everything from minute one, not only welcomed the investigation but demanded the police release the evidence as soon as possible to clear his name, and finally got his vindication. No matter what you think about the man, you have to be happy about that.
