Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay died back in May, but new details surrounding his passing have raised serious questions. While his death certificate lists the cause as “cardiac arrest due to pneumonia and heart issues,” the FBI has reportedly opened an investigation to find out the truth.
Following Irsay’s death in May, the Colts released a statement saying the 65-year-old longtime owner had died “peacefully in his sleep.”
“We are devastated to announce our beloved Owner & CEO, Jim Irsay, passed away peacefully in his sleep this afternoon,” Colts COO Pete Ward said in a statement after Irsay’s passing. “Jim’s dedication and passion for the Indianapolis Colts in addition to his generosity, commitment to the community, and most importantly, his love for his family were unsurpassed.”
However, a recent Washington Post investigation has shed new light on the final months and years of Irsay’s life, and those revelations seem to have sparked an FBI investigation into both his death and the physician who treated him.
Irsay’s long battle with substance abuse had been publicly acknowledged over the years, but according to The Washington Post, he experienced several relapses late in life that he was able to hide from the public.
The report states that Irsay overdosed three times in the years leading up to his death: once in Turks and Caicos in 2020, again at his Indiana home in December 2023, and then just 12 days later at a Florida resort. That last overdose resulted in a hospitalization that lasted nearly four months.
The Post also reported that Irsay used ketamine after consulting with a California-based doctor who allegedly provided him with more than 200 opioid pills in the days preceding the December 2023 overdose. Nurses associated with that same physician reportedly administered ketamine injections to Irsay.
According to The Washington Post, that doctor, named Dr. Harry Haroutunian, was staying with Irsay and caring for him on the day he died. The outlet also reports that the same physician signed Irsay’s death certificate, citing “cardiac arrest due to pneumonia and heart issues” as the cause of death.
“I dedicated 18 months of my life to try to care for him … as a brother,” Dr. Harry Haroutunian told The Post in a brief interview this summer. “We did everything we could to make him as comfortable as possible.”
In light of the new details surrounding Irsay’s drug use near the end of his life, The Washington Post reports that the FBI has launched an investigation into his death, as well as into the recovery doctor who prescribed painkillers and ketamine during Irsay’s final months.
According to a federal grand jury subpoena reviewed by The Post, the FBI is seeking documents and information related to Irsay’s death, his “substance (illegal and prescription) use,” and his “relationship with Dr. Harry Haroutunian.”
Needless to say, this investigation sparked a lot of conversation on social media.
“Can’t say I didn’t see this coming. Sad story man,” one fan wrote in a post on X.
“Man, I hadn’t heard this story before. Hope they figure out what actually happened… especially for the family,” someone else added.
“Someone going to jail big time,” another fan speculated.
“Really sad to even think about,” someone else wrote.
“This sounds a lot like the Michael Jackson situation,” another fan wrote.
“So basically the same thing that happened to Matthew Perry,” someone else wrote.
We’ll have to see what the investigation ultimately concludes.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.