Officials have dropped sexual assault charges against Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin.
Irvin, 51, along with his lawyer Kenneth Padowitz, held a press conference Monday afternoon to confirm that the case is finally closed.
"The Fort Lauderdale Police Department and the Broward State Attorney's Office all came to the same conclusion that there is not sufficient evidence here for a criminal case," Padowitz announced.
The former NFL star was being accused of drugging and raping a 27-year-old woman at the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale in March. Alcohol and several drugs, including cocaine, were found in the alleged victim's system at the time of the reported incident. Prosecutors could not prove that Irvin gave her any of the drugs.
More than a month ago, Irvin and Padowitz held another conference to denounce the charges. “Nothing happened that night,” Irvin said during that announcement, which ended with Irvin saying, “Make a decision, let’s move on.”
Despite the charges being dropped, Irvin says the whole ordeal has been devestating. "This is as devastating as it can be... I said all along that absolutely nothing happened."
Irvin says all of the evidence points to his own innocence. He added "There's even enough evidence to go after her [the victim] for filing a false police report."
The alleged victim will still be able to sue Irvin, and the much lower standard of proof (plus the unavailability of the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination) could mean that, although Irvin won’t face criminal jeopardy, the case may not be fully closed.