Jim Irsay, owner of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, said police who were “prejudiced” against him for being a “rich, white billionaire” led to his 2014 arrest for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, ESPN reported.
What are the details?
The sports network said Irsay discussed his arrest during an interview with HBO Sports that aired Tuesday night. Irsay pleaded guilty in September 2014 to one misdemeanor count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, ESPN said.
According to the sports network, when Irsay was asked why he pleaded guilty, the Colts owner replied, “Just to get it over with.”
“I am prejudiced against because I’m a rich, white billionaire,” Irsay added during the interview, according to ESPN. “If I’m just the average guy down the block, they’re not pulling me in, of course not.”
The sports network added that when Irsay was asked how he imagined others would react to his assertion of prejudice, he replied, “I don’t care what it sounds like. It’s the truth. … I could give a damn what people think how anything sounds or sounds like. The truth is the truth, and I know the truth.”
More from ESPN:
Police in the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel pulled Irsay over in March 2014 after he was spotted driving slowly, stopping in the roadway and failing to use a turn signal. Officers said he had trouble reciting the alphabet and failed other field sobriety tests.
Irsay, when asked whether the arrest was a “low point” for him, told HBO Sports that he failed the field sobriety tests because he was just coming off hip surgery.
“The arrest was wrong,” Irsay added, according to the sports network. “I had just had hip surgery and had been in the car for 45 minutes. And what — they asked me to walk the line? Are you kidding me? I can barely walk at all.”
HBO Sports asked Irsay to clarify his assertion that he failed the sobriety tests because of the hip surgery, not because he was under the influence, ESPN said, adding that the Colts owner replied, “Yes, I mean I’m not saying that — it’s a fact.”
More from the sports network:
Police discovered various prescription drugs in Irsay’s vehicle along with more than $29,000 in cash. A toxicology report showed Irsay had the painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone as well as alprazolam, which is used to treat anxiety, in his system at the time of his arrest.
The Carmel Police Department said in a statement Tuesday to The Indianapolis Star that it was “very sorry to hear” Irsay’s accusation of police prejudice against him.
“We have a very professional agency consisting of officers that strive to protect our community with integrity and professionalism,” Carmel Police Lt. D.J. Schoeff wrote in an email to the Indianapolis Star, according to ESPN.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Jim irsay, Indianapolis colts, Owner, Driving while intoxicated, Arrest, Rich white billionaire, Watch, Police, Prejudice, News
