Cowboys Will Be Boys

No one, however, should jump to conclusions about Irvin and Williams in this case. What started out as another case of he said/she said has been weakened by questions about the women's credibility. Though the police report describes the woman as having "bruises, abrasions and scratches," police are clearly troubled by the fact that before reporting the attack to police she took her complaint to a well-known TV reporter. And her estranged husband publicly challenged her credibility, describing her as "melodramatic" and someone who twice previously--without contacting police--had falsely accused men of sexual assault.

The case may hinge on the videotape seized from Williams's home--and on the strength of Irvin's alibi. There are indications that the videotape does not conclusively put Irvin at the scene. Irvin's attorney would not reveal his client's whereabouts at the time of the alleged attack, but he says that a security guard at the gated complex where Williams lives will confirm that Irvin didn't visit that evening. Another Irvin lawyer told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Irvin spent much of that night at the Cowboys Sports Cafe, a popular players' hangout owned by former Cowboys including Tony Dorsett.

The cafe, a restaurant/bar with a jukebox and two pool tables, is located in an Irving, Texas, strip mall a short distance from the team's training facility. On most nights, a few players can be found there, and a sign on the door warns "no autographs." While the cafE's management declined to comment on Irvin, a couple of self-described regulars told NEWSWEEK that they saw Irvin Sunday night. One says Irvin was shooting pool at about 6 p.m. Another, who says he frequently sees the "rude, crude and arrogant" receiver there, saw Irvin leaving the cafE at about 9:20 p.m. He watched as two "out-of-towners" approached Irvin to offer congratulations on his team's win only to have Irvin curse them and walk away.

Still, rudeness is hardly a criminal offense. And it is at least a 30-minute drive from the bar to Williams's home; the woman reportedly told police she was there from 8:30 to 11 p.m., so Irvin's alibi--and her credibility--ought to be easy to check. Furthermore, Irvin's attorney has subpoenaed--and received--a surveillance videotape from a 7-Eleven store at which Irvin supposedly stopped after leaving the bar. A close friend of Irvin's said he found the charges inconceivable. "He's done some silly things, but putting a gun to someone's head--no way," says the friend. "He has lots of women all over Dallas who want him. He doesn't have to force anybody."

A former Cowboy cheerleader familiar with the team's social scene says that Irvin and Williams haven't hung together since Irvin's bust. "After that Michael seemed to try to distance himself from anyone as prone to trouble as he was," she says. "He took the judge's threat of sending him away pretty seriously." She says that Williams's regular parties, attended by a number of players and cheerleaders, included a lot of sexual activity--some of it videotaped. Says one current Dallas cheerleader: "You don't go to Erik's to have cake and tea." Williams's lawyer, Peter Ginsberg, says the player sometimes makes videotapes of his partners giving their "consent" to sexual relations--arguably a wise precaution for a celebrity. He adds that his client has done nothing wrong.

After Friday's practice Irvin appeared relatively relaxed and sanguine about developments. "I feel real good, and I know this is going away soon," he told NEWSWEEK. "None of it is true, so I have nothing to worry about." That may not be the case for the Cowboys, whose attitude--"just another day around the block with these guys," says coach Switzer--seems painfully at odds with society's. The days of "boys will be boys"--even Cowboys--should be long over, and someone in the Dallas organization ought to be man enough to insist upon it.