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It’s not exactly a secret that the vast majority of NFL teams are owned by rich, old white guys, and it would be a stretch to suggest society discriminates against that particular type of person. However, Jim Irsay apparently thinks that’s the case based on how he recently decided to explain what led to him being arrested for driving while intoxicated in 2014.
Jim Irsay may have a net worth of more than $4 billion, but it would be a bit of a stretch to describe him as a self-made man. In 1982, his father Robert used the fortune he made as the head of an HVAC empire to purchase the Indianapolis Colts (who were based in Baltimore at the time), and after the franchise relocated, he was appointed vice president and GM with the help of some good, old-fashioned nepotism.
It would obviously be unfair to suggest Irsay doesn’t know what he’s doing, as he’s spent close to 30 years at the helm of the team he officially became the owner of in the wake of his dad’s death in 1997 (he essentially took the helm when his father had a stroke a couple of years before he passed away).
Irsay has been candid about his struggles with addiction, as he gave up drinking in 2004 but found himself waging a battle with the prescription medicine he got hooked on while using it to combat chronic pain.
It’s believed those pills were the primary culprit when he was arrested and hit with multiple felonies for driving under the influence in 2014 (he pled guilty and was sentenced to a year of probation), but he apparently thinks there was another root cause.
According to Pro Football Talk, Irsay looked back at that incident during an interview on Real Sports where he told Andrea Kramer he had a target on his back due to his race and wealth, saying:
“I am prejudiced against because I’m a rich, white billionaire. If I’m just the average guy down the block, they’re not pulling me in, of course not.
I don’t care what it sounds like. It’s the truth. You know, Andrea, I could give a damn what people think how anything sounds or sounds like. The truth is the truth and I know the truth.”
I hope you’ll excuse me for not taking the time to track down any studies to back up the claim that “Rich White Billionaires” are pretty low on the list of groups who are disproportionately targeted by law enforcement on a regular basis, but that seems like a bit of a stretch.