Michael Irvin said his phone was blowing up with messages letting him know that some thought he was high on cocaine during the national championship game Monday.
The Dallas Cowboy legendary wide receiver, who is a proud Hurricanes alum, was trolled over his “belt-to-ass” celebration and sideline antics as Miami’s unofficial hype man at the College Football Playoff (CFP) title game — a 27-21 Indiana win.
During his new Netflix podcast, “The White House,” Irvin explained that “I hadn’t partaken in 20 years” and denied taking any drugs on the sideline.
“I’m right there in front of the camera for five hours,” Irvin said. “So after the game, I do a little belt thing and everyone sends me all that — ‘Man, Mike right now, he coked out!’
“… I’m like, Wait a minute y’all. First of all, y’all know damn well coke don’t last five hours. I hadn’t partaken in 20 years, but if you got some five-hour stuff, let me know … Stop it! Stop saying this stuff.
“You’ve been looking at me for the last five hours. There is no way I could do something on this sideline. They’re not doing it out of reality. They’re doing it to get to you.
“When I used to get high, that’s exactly what I would say. No matter who I saw, [I would say], ‘Oh, he high too.’ … And you want everyone to be high because you’re high.”
Irvin’s sideline antics aren’t new, though it’s likely the first time some of the 30.1 million viewers for the national championship game were exposed to it.
The three-time Super Bowl champ — who helped Miami to a national championship in 1987 — usually is on all fours and screaming at Hurricanes games, as he was at the Fiesta Bowl earlier this month.
“Saturday Night Live” spoofed Irvin in its “Weekend Update” segment with a hilarious parody by comedian Kam Patterson ahead of the CFP national championship game.
Irvin starred for Miami before being drafted by the Cowboys with the No. 11 pick in the 1988 NFL Draft.
He opened up about his past with cocaine in “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys” — the Netflix documentary that delves into the history of Jerry Jones’ ownership in the 1990s.
Irvin recalled when he was indicted on felony cocaine possession in March 1996 and faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
He pleaded no contest to felony cocaine possession in exchange for four years of deferred probation, a $10,000 fine and dismissal of misdemeanor marijuana possession charges after police found the All-Pro wideout with a few others in a Texas hotel room littered with cocaine and marijuana.
Irvin ultimately took a deal and got probation with restrictions and conditions. He was also suspended for the first five games of the 1996 season.
