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With the recent revelation that Michael Irvin’s wife, Sandy, has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, there has been increased interest in learning more about her and her condition.
Irvin keeps his personal life private and even managed to keep his wife’s diagnosis a secret for at least five years.
What we do know about the couple is that they met in the 1980s at the University of Miami and married in 1990 in their third season in the NFL. They have three children together: Michael Jr., Elijah and Chelsea.
It was last week, when Irvin announced the opening of his restaurant Playmaker88 that he revealed his wife’s health problem. The Hall of Famer said he even hired a chef for his restaurant who made Sandy’s favorite chicken wings.
Irvin said he has no plans to put his wife in a nursing home, telling the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: ‘If anyone has earned the right to stay in their home, MY WIFE HAS!!! . I will honor that. No matter what it costs.’
Michael Irvin revealed that his wife Sandy, 58, was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s
The couple met in the 1980s while attending Miami and have been married 34 years.
All of these steps are honorable and deserved after Irvin’s highly controversial public life, which saw multiple accusations, but no convictions, of sexual assault and misconduct.
He has also been in trouble for drug use and even had an incident where he stabbed a teammate in the neck with a pair of scissors, but did not face any charges.
These are just a few of the examples of trouble the ‘Playmaker’ has gotten into, all while his loyal wife was by his side as a pillar of consistency in Irvin’s life.
1996 False accusation of sexual assault
The first time Michael Irvin was accused of sexual assault, the accuser was proven to be lying.
In 1996, just before the Cowboys played the Panthers in an NFC divisional round playoff game, media reports began circulating that Irvin and teammate Erik Williams sexually assaulted a Dallas cheerleader. , Nina Shahravan.
The two men were accused of pointing a gun at Shahravan’s head and videotaping the interaction while under the influence of cocaine.
Both Irvin and Williams denied the allegations and it was later proven that Shahravan completely made up the entire incident.
She recanted her story, pleaded guilty to filing a false police report and perjury, and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and a fine.
Irvin was first accused of sexual assault in 1996, but the allegation was proven to be trumped up.
1996 cocaine incident
The year 1996 was a problematic one for Irvin, as his alleged penchant for cocaine consumption affected him, and not for the last time.
In March of that year, Dallas police found Irvin in a hotel room with a friend of his, two topless dancers and 10.3 grams of cocaine, among other drugs and paraphernalia.
After being charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana, Irvin was also charged with felony possession of at least four grams of cocaine.
That July, he pleaded no contest to those charges of second-degree cocaine possession in exchange for four years of deferred probation, a $10,000 fine and the dismissal of the marijuana charges he faced.
Irvin was arrested and pleaded no contest to felony second-degree possession of cocaine in 1996.
‘Scissors’
In the summer of 1998, Cowboys offensive lineman Everett McIver was sitting in a barber’s chair getting a haircut.
When Irvin entered, he told McIver to get out of his chair so he wouldn’t have to wait his turn.
That led to a fight in the store that prompted Cowboys teammate Leon Lett to try to break her up.
It was during the course of that fight that Irvin grabbed a pair of scissors and stabbed McIver in the neck. The receiver barely missed the lineman’s carotid artery.
After the intervention of team owner Jerry Jones, a six-figure settlement was reached in exchange for McIver not pressing any criminal charges, which was crucial since Irvin was still on probation for the aforementioned cocaine incident. .
Irvin once stabbed a teammate in the neck with a pair of scissors in 1998 while on parole.
Cocaine arrest, 2001
Just a few months after his probation ended, in June 2001, Irvin was arrested once again for felony cocaine possession.
After police forced their way into a North Dallas apartment, they found Irvin with an unrelated woman and once again found marijuana, cocaine and other drugs.
Irvin surrendered to police and was re-indicted on those felony charges, but they were later dropped.
Misdemeanor arrest, 2005
In November 2005, when Irvin had long since retired from the game, he was pulled over in Plano, Texas, for speeding.
He was arrested on an outstanding warrant for an unpaid speeding ticket in Irving, Texas and was also cited for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
This came after police searched his car and found a pipe and plastic bags with marijuana residue.
Despite the arrest, Irvin appeared on that week’s episode of ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown; However, he was suspended for the following week’s shows.
Irvin was arrested again for cocaine possession in 2001 and for drug possession in 2005.
Sexual assault accusation, 2007
In July 2007, Irvin was accused of sexual assault while at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
The woman who accused Irvin reported the incident to Seminole Tribal Police, but later signed a waiver of prosecution, meaning she would not pursue criminal charges.
While no charges were filed, a civil lawsuit was filed against him in 2010.
According to the lawsuit, Irvin got the woman drunk and took her to his hotel room, where he and another man insisted on asking her for sexual favors. The woman claimed Irvin raped her and the other person forced her to have oral sex with him.
Irvin denied the incident and countersued for $100 million. A settlement was reached in 2011 and both lawsuits were ultimately dismissed.
In 2007, Irvin was accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit that was settled out of court.
Sexual assault accusation, 2017
Irvin was charged again with sexual assault in Florida, nearly ten years after the previous accusation.
A 27-year-old woman accused the Hall of Famer of drugging and raping her. Irvin, again, denied any wrongdoing.
Investigations by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office found that the alleged victim’s rape kit test performed at a local hospital came back negative. Additionally, a toxicology report showed that the woman had amphetamines and cocaine, as well as other drugs and alcohol in her system.
Eventually, county officials announced that they would not charge Irvin in the case because “it is clear that there is insufficient evidence to establish that a crime was committed.”
Irvin would face another sexual assault lawsuit in 2017, but authorities did not charge him
Allegation of sexual misconduct, 2023
The last incident involving Irvin occurred in the run-up to Super Bowl LVII in February 2023 in Arizona.
Irvin was accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward an employee at the Renaissance Phoenix Hotel and Spa, leading to a complaint being filed against the former wide receiver.
As a result of this, NFL Network removed Irvin from its coverage of the big game and did not reinstate him until the start of the new season.
Irvin sued Marriott International (owner of the hotel) and six other parties, including one Jane Doe, for defamation and tortious interference. He denied any wrongdoing in the situation.
The case was eventually settled in September 2023, leading to Irvin’s reinstatement to the NFL Network airwaves.