Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Irsay passed away back in May. And while his death certificate says he died of “cardiac arrest due to pneumonia and heart issues,” the FBI has launched an investigation to see what really happened.
After his passing back in May, the Colts issued a statement declaring that the 65-year-old longtime team owner had passed away “peacefully in his sleep.”
“We are devastated to announce our beloved Owner & CEO, Jim Irsay, passed away peacefully in his sleep this afternoon,” said Colts COO Pete Ward in a statement following Irsay’s death.
“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 revealed some telling details about the final months and years of Irsay’s life that the public did not exactly know about, sparking an FBI investigation into Irsay’s death and the doctor who was offering him treatment.
Irsay’s struggles with substance abuse were well documented over the course of his life. However, according to a report from The Washington Post, the longtime team owner suffered multiple relapses in the final years of his life and managed to keep them out of public view.
The outlet reported that Irsay overdosed three separate times in the years before his death: once while in Turks and Caicos in 2020, again at his Indiana home in December 2023, and then 12 days later at a Florida resort. That final incident led to a hospital stay that stretched nearly four months.
The Post also revealed that Irsay had used ketamine after consulting with a California doctor who supplied him with more than 200 opioid pills in the days leading up to the December 2023 overdose. Nurses working for that same physician, the outlet reports, administered ketamine injections to Irsay.
According to The Washington Post, that doctor was staying with Irsay and caring for him on the day he died. The outlet further reports that the same doctor signed Irsay’s death certificate, listing “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 the wake of the revelations surrounding Irsay’s drug use late in his life, The Washington Post reports that the FBI has opened an investigation into his death, as well as into the recovery doctor who prescribed pain medication and ketamine during Irsay’s final months.
Per a federal grand jury subpoena reviewed by The Post, the FBI is requesting records and information related to Irsay’s death, his “substance (illegal and prescription) use,” and his “relationship with Dr. Harry Haroutunian.”
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.