An explosive new investigative report claims the late and former Indianapolis Colts owner relapsed and overdosed before his death in May at the age of 65.
The Washington Post on Thursday reported that Irsay battled with relapse in the final years of his life and hid it from the public. It’s also reported that he overdosed three times in the years leading up to his death: once in Turks and Caicos in 2020; at his Indiana home in December 2023; and then 12 days later at a resort in Florida that resulted in a hospital stay that lasted nearly four months.
The national news outlet spoke to five people who claimed they witnessed Irsay using drugs. The outlet also cited medical and police reports.
In one police report, it’s said that Irsay fired one of his nurses just days before his December 2023 overdose after he accused the nurse of hiding his pills. That nurse reportedly told police that the pills were being hidden from Irsay in a lockbox because he was taking his medication “too frequently.”
When he reportedly overdosed in December 2023, The Post reports that it was a Colts executive who called 911 and told the dispatcher that Irsay was suffering from heart failure. There was no mention of drugs and pills during that call. The Colts later claimed that Irsay was hospitalized due to a “severe respiratory illness.” Irsay would later contradict that claim, instead claiming his hospital stay was due to back surgery.
The Post also revealed Irsay’s use of ketamine after speaking with a California doctor who provided Irsay with more than 200 opioid pills in the days leading up to his December 2023 overdose. Nurses for that same doctor, The Post reports, administered ketamine injections to Irsay.
That same doctor was reportedly staying with Irsay and caring for him. The Post also reports that the same doctor signed Irsay’s death certificate and cited “cardiac arrest due to pneumonia and heart issues” as the cause of death.
Irsay’s daughters — Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt, and Kalen Jackson, who now co-own the Colts — released a statement defending their late father.]
“Our Dad was open about his battles with addiction and mental health. He never claimed to be perfect,” they wrote. “The media is not the place to address inquiries about information which is disputed, lacks essential context, or involves private medical matters.”
