Stephen A. Smith says he wants Hall of Famer Michael Irvin back on 'First Take'

ESPN's First Take host Stephen A. Smith says he wants Hall of Famer Michael Irvin back on the airwaves, after the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver was suspended following allegations of inappropriate behavior before the Super Bowl.

Irvin had been making frequent appearances on the show debating Smith.

"We know how I feel about The Playmaker, Michael Irvin,” Smith said on his podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with him. I don’t know what his situation is. I haven’t spoken to him in a while.”

“There’s not much on this planet Earth I would not 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, ever sit up there and tell anybody that I want anybody more than I want Michael Irvin. It’s just that things that are going on are out of my control. Whether it’s the NFL, it’s the NFL Network, it’s ESPN, I don’t know. And I don’t have any control over that, that’s beyond my pay grade.”

Irvin has not appeared on the air at ESPN or NFL Network since February.

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Irvin filed a $100 million lawsuit, claiming defamation and tortious interference in a business relationship, and as the case has wound through district court and now federal court, the hotel chain is fighting back with their own version of the encounter on Feb. 5 at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown.

Irvin and his lawyers re-filed the case in Arizona Superior Court, which six defendants, including the accuser, who is referred to as "Ms. Doe," and three other hotel employees.  The other defendants are Marriott International and Renaissance Hotel Operating Company.