Sports TV writ large took a somewhat reluctant approach to the coverage around San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York’s August arrest on prostitution charges, but Netflix analyst Michael Irvin has no such reservations.
The 49ers owner pleaded no contest to reduced charges after allegedly responding to a prostitution ad and offering to pay $140 for sex at an Ohio trailer park in East Palestine, Ohio. For his part, Irvin isn’t even sure that the disorderly conduct York was charged with was warranted.
“He got divorced 5-6 months ago, so I’m like, ‘Man, come on. Is that really a crime?’ Let that man go. Leave it alone,” Irvin told N3on during a Twitch stream.
“Like, imagine if you, uh, you’re going through a divorce and some, and some young girl, some pretty girl come up to you hitting on you, you know, and she’s undercover. You don’t know. And I don’t know how that happened or what happened with him.”
Michael Irvin defends 49ers owner Jed York to N3on after his arrest:
“He got divorced 5-6 months ago so I’m like ‘Man, come on. Is that really a crime?’ Let that man go. Leave it alone… Everybody’s paying for it. You take her out to eat, you’re paying for it. Everybody’s paying… pic.twitter.com/nDmtmJaBCO
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) September 4, 2026
Irvin went on to compare York’s situation to traditional romantic relationships.
“Everybody’s paying for it. You take (a girlfriend) out to eat, you’re paying for it. Everybody’s paying for it. So what are we doing? Why we gotta embarrass this man for 140 dollars? People think, ‘You’re a billionaire. Why didn’t you go to high-end places?’ The high-end places get you in trouble all the time.”
Irvin joins Shannon Sharpe on the apparently growing list of former NFL players in the media to defend York’s discretions in East Palestine.
“It don’t make him no bad brother,” Sharpe said. “The man is human… he a man and he still got needs.”
The NFL is reviewing York’s legal matter under the terms of its personal conduct policy. The 49ers issued a brief statement, noting they won’t provide any further comment since it is a resolved legal matter.