Cowboys’ Irvin Is Indicted

Michael Irvin, the all-time leading receiver and vocal leader of the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys, was indicted Monday on cocaine and marijuana charges by a Texas grand jury.

A month after being discovered in a hotel room with a woman who was arrested for possession of an estimated $6,000 worth of drugs, Irvin was indicted on charges of marijuana and cocaine possession. The cocaine charge is a felony. If convicted, Irvin could face a sentence of up to 20 years.

Jail officials said Irvin was arrested shortly after the indictments were returned, then released on $5,500 bond.

Because of a judicial gag order, no one involved in the case would comment Monday, although Irvin’s attorney, Kevin Clancy, said his client would plead not guilty.

In addition to whatever criminal penalties he may face, Irvin’s indictment will probably land him in the NFL’s drug-treatment program. There could also be further punishment by the Cowboys, who could charge that Irvin violated the “good conduct” portion of a contract scheduled to pay him an average of $2.8 million for the next four years.

Irvin’s daring play and flashy demeanor epitomized the Cowboys as they won three championships in the last four years.

But Irvin’s alleged behavior is only the latest in a series of off-field problems that have plagued the team since Barry Switzer became coach two seasons ago.

In the middle of last season, defensive back Clayton Holmes and defensive tackle Leon Lett were suspended by the NFL for drug use. A year earlier, tackle Erik Williams was legally drunk when he drove his car off the road in an accident that nearly took his life.

Irvin, 30, had probably his finest season last fall with 111 catches for 1,603 yards. He caught passes for at least 100 yards in 11 games, setting an NFL record. He made the Pro Bowl for the fifth consecutive season. And he caught three touchdown passes in three playoff games.

He also was the Cowboy least familiar with humility, which is saying something on a team that includes Deion Sanders.

After the NFC championship game victory over the Green Bay Packers, he cursed the sports world on national TV for not believing in Switzer. Later in a news conference, he guaranteed a Super Bowl victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Sources said this outrageousness--which included wearing thick gold necklaces and earrings during games--ultimately got him in his current trouble.

Shortly before midnight March 3, police in Irving, Texas, responding to a 911 call from a hotel manager, found Irvin, former teammate Alfredo Roberts and two women, known to be topless dancers, in a room at the Residence Inn there.

Police said one of the women, Angela Renee Beck, 22, claimed she was the owner of the drugs. They arrested only her at the time.

Besides the drugs, however, police reportedly recovered razor blades, pipes used to snort cocaine and two dinner plates, one dusted with cocaine and the other with cocaine and marijuana.

KXAS-TV of Fort Worth quoted sources close to the investigation last week as saying Irvin’s fingerprints were found on a variety of those items. The station also said a glass container with cocaine residue was found in his overnight bag.

Sources, however, said Irving police were content to go easy on Irvin, who is married and portrays himself as a leading citizen, hoping he would be helpful in a grand jury investigation.

However, Irvin did not show up for his first grand jury appointment two weeks ago. When he finally appeared several days later, wearing a mink coat, he appeared to make a joke of the process.

He signed an autograph for a courthouse employee that eventually resulted in the woman’s firing. He stuck his head out of the courtroom during the proceedings to offer doughnuts to reporters.

During a recess, he stepped outside the courtroom and flipped through a phone book while announcing he was ordering a pizza.

Local officials were apparently humiliated by the incident, and decided to press further. Roberts and the women have been offered immunity for testimony, KXAS reported.