Jim Irsay Out of Rehab, Back On Twitter
Jim Irsay leaving jail following his March 16th arrest
On March 16th Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was pulled over on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. The Carmel police officer’s suspicions were immediately confirmed upon encountering a slurring Irsay, who had trouble standing.
Inside Irsay’s Toyota Highlander police found a number of bottles filled with pills, none of which he was able to provide a prescription for. Also in his possession, for reasons never explained, was $29,029 in cash. Most of the money was in a briefcase, with the rest stuffed in a laundry bag, along with the pills.
Considering the delight the NFL takes in doling out discipline, it seemed that Irsay was likely to be hit with something at some point. He dodged immediate action one day after his arrest by entering a rehabilitation facility, where he remained until last week.
Ever the over-involved owner, Irsay just couldn’t resist being a part of the 2014 NFL Draft. Two months after his arrest and subsequent rehab stay, Irsay was spotted inside the Colts’ war room last Friday. Dressed in a suit befitting a mafia don, as usual, he was impossible to miss.
The spotlight obsessed Irsay has also made his way back to Twitter, where he’s been basking in the love and adoration of Colts fans who have way too much time on their hands. With an almost pathological need to see and be seen, he’s been making a mockery of himself on social media for years now.
On Thursday Ryan Glasspiegel of The Big Lead asked the question that is surely on the minds of many by now: Why hasn’t Roger Goodell disciplined Jim Irsay yet?
An important question that begs another: Does Roger Goodell, who is employed by the owners, for the owners and extremely well-compensated in that position, even plan to discipline him at this point? Or, for that matter, has he ever?
Following the arrest Goodell said that Irsay could be subject to league discipline for the incident, but declined to comment further. Said the commissioner, “We obviously will want to understand the facts before we take any steps as it relates to any potential discipline.”
The situation marks a sharp contrast to the swift and decisive actions recently taken by NBA commissioner Adam Silver against Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was caught on audio making unforgivably racist statements.
Obviously the situations are completely different, but the lifetime ban slapped on Sterling, who may be forced to sell the franchise, proved that at least one professional sports league no longer considers its owners above the standards it sets for players.
Getting back to the NFL, consider the case of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, who is currently facing a one-year suspension for testing positive for marijuana, which obviously violates the league’s substance-abuse policy.
Gordon is hoping to get his suspension reduced on appeal, but four to six games is the best he can hope for, given that it’s his second offense. Last year he was suspended for two games and docked two additional game checks for testing positive for codeine.
A season long suspension is quite the price to pay for smoking weed.
Gordon wasn’t driving, he wasn’t drinking and driving, and, unlike Irsay at the time of his arrest, he didn’t refuse to be tested. If he had been pulled over with a car full of drugs and $30K in cash, this would all seem a bit more reasonable.
Yet here we are.
The NFL wasted no time in moving towards putting an athlete out of work for an entire calendar year for smoking weed. But what about an owner driving around high on illegal prescription drugs with a car full of cash?
Well, it’s been two months and not so much as a peep.
