When You're Poor, You're a Junkie. When You're Rich, You're Just Jim Irsay
- Fred
- Aug 31
- 2 min read
ESPN on 5/21/25: Colts Owner and CEO Jim Irsay Dies at 65
"Jim Irsay passed away peacefully in his sleep."
We cut and pasted that quote 3 months ago because it was absurd. Jim Irsay was a human wrecking ball. I would have bet my house that guy died from activities linked to a nefarious lifestyle. As tributes flooded in from across the nation for Irsay, I quietly buried the ESPN quote in the Beacon of Speech archives.
Lo and behold, 3 months later:
TMZ: "The legendary Indianapolis Colts owner reportedly passed away at the Beverly Hills Hotel while under the care of an addiction specialist."
USA TODAY: "Irsay maintained he was clean for years. But the (Washington) Post found evidence he suffered three overdoses from 2020 on. First, he was airlifted from Turks and Caicos in February 2020. The next came in December 2023 at his home in suburban Indianapolis and then again 12 days later at a resort in Florida, according to the Post."
Daily Mail: "He is said to have suffered two opioid overdoses within two weeks of each other in December 2023. Irsay allegedly first overdosed at his home in Indianapolis and then again 12 days later at a beachfront resort near Miami, Florida. The Florida overdose is said to have left Irsay hospitalized for almost four months, which, at the time, the Colts attributed to a respiratory disease. In the days before the incident in Florida, the addiction specialist doctor allegedly prescribed Irsay more than 200 opioid pills."
Indy Star: "Irsay and the Colts did not identify overdose as the cause of the late owner’s lengthy battle with health issues in the first four months of 2024."
New York Times: "When Irsay died on May 21 at age 65, (Harry) Haroutunian signed the death certificate, which listed the cause of death as cardiac arrest caused by acute pneumonia, with two heart conditions, according to The Post. No autopsy or toxicology report was done."
Very curious. No autopsy or toxicology report for a known addict? Usually that only happens when the family of the deceased is too poor to pay for such reports, or if the family of the deceased is rich enough to make those reports go away. Investigative reporters swarm the Irsay Story 3 months after his death?
But hey, kudos to his daughters for protecting their Dad for, at least, a decade.
My argument is, if you're the CEO of a multibillion dollar company, and you are overdosing on drugs every few years, maybe you shouldn't have been running that company.
My advice to all addicts out there? Get a job where no one can fire you....
And be a billionaire.