Colts owner Jim Irsay claims he nearly died from a previous drug

admin | November 20, 2023 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, has been more transparent about his battles with addiction.

He disclosed in a recent interview that he nearly died from a drug overdose in the past.

The disclosure was made by Irsay, who has previously been open about his struggles with drugs and alcohol, in an interview with Andrew Kremer for HBO’s “Real Sports.” HBO released a clip on social media on Monday, hinting at the full interview.

Irsay admits to Kremer in the video that he has visited rehab “at least 15 times.” When Kremer questioned him about whether he had “actually ever overdosed,” he then shares a story of a near-death encounter.

“Oh yeah,” Irsay said. “One time, I was trying to detox myself, and I mixed multiple drugs that I didn’t know anything about. So all of a sudden, I start slurring my words. And then cold blue, I stop breathing. And they revive me and the doctor goes, ‘Jim, you’re one lucky man because I had virtually signed the death certificate.'”

Irsay, 64, began working for his father Robert as an executive for the Colts in 1984. After Robert’s death in 1997, at the age of 37, he assumed the role of majority owner.

Irsay has publicly battled addiction throughout his ownership tenure. After being arrested in 2014 on suspicion of DUI and four felony counts of possessing a controlled substance, Irsay entered a rehab facility.

When police pulled Irsay over for what they said was erratic driving, they found him to be carrying more than $29,000 in cash as well as several bottles of prescription medication. He refused to take a blood test, which resulted in a year-long suspension of his driver’s license, according to the police report. He also failed a field sobriety test. After the felony charges were eventually dropped by the prosecution, Irsay entered a guilty plea to operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Since then, Irsay has discussed his difficulties candidly, most notably in an Associated Press interview from 2022.

“I had to give up my self-will because it was killing me,” Irsay remarked. “The only way I could be helped was to give up, become teachable, and yield to a force bigger than myself.”

He has established an initiative with the Colts to promote mental health awareness, drawing on his personal experiences.

In 2022, Irsay said to the AP, “I know what it’s like to be at hell’s gates.” “I know what it’s like to feel the bars of hell and be in that darkness.”

It had been his first public discussion of his near-death experience until he revealed it to Kremer.