Lawyer for Michael Irvin disputes sexual assault allegations

The lawyer for Hall of Fame receiver and NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin disputed sexual assault allegations made by a woman last week in Florida.

A woman reported to the Fort Lauderdale police that she had been sexually assaulted in a hotel room around 4 a.m. on March 22. The incident report released on Wednesday did not list Irvin as the focus of the investigation, although longtime attorney Larry Friedman confirmed that his client was subject to the allegations made by a 27-year-old woman.

“Michael steadfastly denies anything happened,” Friedman told Paste BN Sports. “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.”

TMZ was the first outlet to report that Irvin was the subject of the investigation. Fort Lauderdale police said in a statement obtained by Paste BN Sports and other outlets that the matter was an “open investigation,” and more details were not immediately made available.

Friedman said that Irvin will cooperate with the investigation, and they are seeking to meet with investigators in Fort Lauderdale sometime this week.

“We don’t even know what the allegations are,” Friedman said. “We will be cooperative and responsive to this investigation. We want to see the evidence.”

NFL Network spokesperson Alex Riethmiller told Paste BN Sports that it had no immediate comment.

In 2011, Irvin reached a settlement in a civil lawsuit that had accused him of sexual battery in 2007. Irvin dropped his defamation countersuit as part of that settlement.

In March 1996, Irvin was indicted on second-degree felony charges for possession of cocaine and misdemeanor marijuana charges. He received probation after a no-contest plea.

In hearings after Irvin's indictment, a man was arrested for attempting to extort $119,000 from Irvin, and a police officer was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him.

Nicole Poell contributed to this report.