Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said in a newly released interview he was “prejudiced against” for being a “rich, White billionaire” when he was arrested for driving while intoxicated in 2014.
Irsay pled guilty later that year to one misdemeanor count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated but, in an HBO interview that aired on Tuesday, the 64-year-old cited his wealth and status as the reason for the arrest.
“I am prejudiced against because I’m a rich, White billionaire,” Irsay said in an interview with Andrea Kremer on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
“If I’m just the average guy down the block, they’re not pulling me in, of course not,” added Irsay, whose net worth is $4.3 billion, according to Forbes.
CNN has reached out to the Colts and the Carmel Police department for comment.
In a statement sent to the Indianapolis Star, Lt. DJ Schoeff of the Carmel Police said “we are very sorry to hear that comment about our officers and our department.
“We have a very professional agency consisting of officers that strive to protect our community with integrity and professionalism,” the statement added.
On March 16, 2014, Irsay was arrested and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and possession of a controlled substance in Carmel, Indiana. At the time of the arrest, police said they found prescription drugs in pill bottles. Police said the drugs were not associated with any prescription bottles in the vehicle.
According to courtroom evidence, Irsay had the painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone in his system when he was arrested.
The probable cause affidavit indicates that the Colts owner’s speech was “slow and slurred,” his eyes were “red and glassy” and his balance was “very unsteady.” He failed a number of field sobriety tests, had trouble reciting the alphabet and told an officer “that he was having a hard time finding his house.”
The NFL subsequently suspended Irsay for the Colts’ first six regular-season games of that season and he was fined $500,000 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Following the arrest, Irsay voluntarily reported to a rehabilitation facility. He has spoken publicly about his struggles with addiction in the past.
When asked by Kremer if he was aware what his claims of prejudice might sound like to the public, the long-time Colts owner said he didn’t care.
Irsay also blamed the failed sobriety test on a bad hip following surgery, saying that he could “barely walk at all” and that he only pled guilty to the misdemeanor to “get it over with.”
“It’s the truth. I couldn’t give a damn what people think, how anything sounds or sounds like. The truth is the truth,” he added.
Irsay’s assertions of prejudice sparked wide criticism online, with ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith calling it “ridiculous.”
“It just shows how detached he is,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take.
Irsay, who has owned the Colts since 1997, responded to the online criticism by posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: “There was NO alcohol, No illegal drugs.”
