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Wednesday, January 1, 1997

Irvin, Williams Accused of Sexual Assault

By DENNE H. FREEMAN / AP Sports Writer (Jan. 1, 1997)

IRVING, Texas (AP) - The Dallas Cowboys' tumultuous season endured another jolt Tuesday when Michael Irvin was accused of holding a gun to the head of a 23-year-old woman while teammate Erik Williams and another man raped her.

Police Lt. David Goelden said a videotape and other evidence were seized at Williams' home Tuesday and were being reviewed. He said charges could be filed against all three as early as Thursday.

Irvin, already on probation for a drug offense, denied the allegations. Williams refused to comment. The third man was not immediately identified.

"I don't know anything about it," Irvin said after the Cowboys' practiced for Sunday's NFC divisional playoff game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.

"I have not done anything in any way, shape or form to violate my probation. I'm tired of it," the 30-year-old former All-Pro receiver said. "I've done enough bad things to my family and my teammates. But in this case I have done nothing."

Goelden said some of the alleged sexual activities were captured on the videotape, and that the camera and tape appear to belong to Williams. He said Irvin and Williams likely would come in for questioning later this week.

"We'll give them the opportunity to present whatever they want to present to us," he said.

Goelden said the woman, an acquaintance of Williams, told police Monday night that she had been forced to have sex at gunpoint with two men at Williams' home on Sunday night. According to the police report, Irvin held the gun. The woman apparently didn't know who the third man was.

The woman, who was bruised and scratched, was taken to the hospital. There was no evidence drugs were involved, Goelden said.

Dave Overton, news director of KXAS-TV, which broke the story, said the woman had been a source for the station "on a couple of occasions in the past several months."

However, he said: "We have never paid her. We have never given her a camera."

The allegations against the two football stars come as America's Team, as the Cowboys are known, seeks to repeat as Super Bowl champions. They have won three of the last four Super Bowls.

"They're going to deal with it and just go on," coach Barry Switzer said. "There's no perfect timing for anything like this."

"They had a good practice," he said. "I would say, in fact, Michael had an excellent practice."

Irvin and Williams would have to be convicted before the NFL could impose discipline.

"We are in contact with both the Cowboys and the local authorities to determine the facts of the case," league spokesman Joe Browne said.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had no comment, but team spokesman Rich Dalrymple said: "We understand that the appropriate authorities are looking into this situation. We do not know all of the details involved, but we are trying to gather as much information as possible. We may have more to say at a later time."

Irvin was sentenced to four years' deferred adjudication, a $10,000 fine and 800 hours of community service after pleading no contest to felony cocaine possession.

"If you come back before me ... I will find you guilty of this offense and you're looking at 20 years in the penitentiary," State District Judge Manny Alvarez told Irvin at the sentencing.

Irvin's attorney Royce West said his client was "doing what he's supposed to be doing" to meet conditions of his probation.

Norm Kinne, Dallas County first assistant district attorney, said that if charges were filed, "we would file a motion to revoke his probation."

The Cowboys are coming off a year that began with Irvin on the sidelines serving a five-game league-imposed suspension because of the drug charges.

After a 1-3 start, the team righted itself after Irvin's return only to see Leon Lett, the team's top defensive lineman, handed a one-year suspension by the league in November after failing a drug test. Lett had been suspended for four games last season.

Yet the Cowboys won the NFC East division and dominated the Minnesota Vikings 40-15 in last weekend's playoff game at Texas Stadium.

Williams, a 28-year-old offensive lineman selected for the 1997 Pro Bowl game, was previously accused of sexual assault. But a grand jury in June 1995 declined to indict him, citing insufficient evidence over an incident two months earlier involving a 17-year-old at the player's home.

The decision came after the girl reached a civil settlement with Williams and asked that he not be prosecuted.