Soon after the Cowboys’ dynasty was established following their third Super Bowl victory, Irvin began running afoul of the law. In March 1996, he was arrested in a hotel room for possession of cocaine while celebrating his 30th birthday. Amidst a media circus, complete with his typically outlandish dress and bombastic public comments, Irvin pled no-contest and was sentenced to community service and four years probation. He was also suspended by the NFL for the first five games of the 1996 season. Despite a slow start, his team managed to make the playoffs, only to run into controversy again when a Dallas woman claimed that Irvin and a teammate sexually assaulted her at gunpoint. She was later found to have fabricated the entire story and pled guilty to perjury. Adding insult to injury, Irvin’s 1996 season ended with a broken collar bone. He recovered to have solid years in 1997 and 1998, but suffered a career-ending injury the following season when he damaged his spinal chord after a hard tackle against the Philadelphia Eagles, forcing him into early retirement.
Irvin’s post-NFL career was as lively and controversial as the one he had on the field. In 2001, he was again arrested for cocaine possession after a felony warrant was issued by Denton County authorities. The charges stemmed from an arrest the previous year in North Dallas for misdemeanor possession of marijuana just a month after a judge ended his probation nine days early. Meanwhile, the arrest torpedoed talks between Irvin and Fox Sports over a potential deal for him to become a pregame analyst. But in 2002, he joined the roundtable as the main football analyst on “The Best Damned Sports Show Period” (Fox Sports Net, 2001-09), an irreverent sports show that was well-suited to Irvin’s outspoken nature. After only one season, Irvin left to join “Sunday NFL Countdown” (ESPN, 1985- ). In 2005, he was arrested for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, and used his seat on ESPN’s pregame show to claim that he had taken his brother’s pipe away from him and had forgotten to throw it out. Less than two years later, ESPN severed ties with the former wide receiver, who was inducted that year into the Professional Football Hall of Fame. Following a guest starring turn as a football coach for disadvantaged kids on an episode of “Burn Notice” (USA Network, 2007- ), Irvin joined the season nine cast of “Dancing With the Stars” (ABC, 2004- ), seeking to be yet another in a long line of professional athletes to win the competition.