Colts Owner Blames Drunk Driving Arrest on Prejudice Against White Billionaires
He asserted that he failed the sobriety test because he had just had hip surgery and was taking prescription painkillers and a sedative.

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said in an interview aired on Tuesday that his 2014 arrest for drunk driving happened because he was “prejudiced against” for being “a rich, white billionaire.” “If I’m just the average guy down the block, they’re not pulling me in, of course not,” he explained to Andrea Kremer on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. According to ESPN, Kremer questioned Irsay on how he thought people would take his claim to victim status, but the Colts owner doubled down: “I could give a damn what people think how anything sounds or sounds like. The truth is the truth.” The 64-year-old businessman asserted that he failed the sobriety test because he had just had hip surgery and was taking prescription painkillers and a sedative and pleaded guilty to “get it over with.” The Carmel Police Department told The Indianapolis Star on Tuesday that it was “very sorry to hear” Irsay’s allegations and that they “strive to protect our community with integrity and professionalism.”
Here’s the HBO clip where Colts owner Jim Irsay claims Carmel police were prejudiced against him during a DUI arrest for being “a rich, white billionaire”: pic.twitter.com/o2UywtFfMk
— Nate Atkins (@NateAtkins_) November 22, 2023
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