Colts owner Jim Irsay denies report regarding serious health issue

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay addressed a winter report regarding his health issues during a recent interview with Fox 59's Mike Chappell.

It was reported in January that police said that Irsay was found "laying in his bed unresponsive, cold to the touch and gasping for air" during a suspected overdose in early December.

After weeks of being out of the public eye, the Colts released a statement on Jan. 9 saying that the 64-year-old was "being treated for a severe respiratory illness," adding that he was getting "excellent care" and that they had no further updates.

TMZ Sports further reported on Jan. 17 that police documents showed cops were dispatched to his residence "around 4:30 a.m." on Dec. 8. after "someone said they found Irsay unconscious on a bathroom floor with a blue skin tone."

The report added that police said they were prepared to attach an automated external defibrillator (AED) to Irsay before paramedics arrived and "took over lifesaving efforts." He was taken to a nearby hospital, and police classified the incident as both an "overdose" and "overdose/poisoning."

"It wasn’t an overdose," Irsay told Chappell. "I don’t know why when you have your name in the paper in the past, people throw that out there quickly. I don’t pay attention to it all that much, but I don’t think it’s fair."

The longtime chairman and CEO added that he wanted to "let the fans and Colts Nation know that" he was in "good shape" and had his "hands on the reins [of the franchise] in a strong way." That message echoed his early February post on social media, in which he wrote that he was "on the mend."

Chappell's report added that responders to Irsay's winter scare logged the event as a possible overdose, which contradicts the official police report. Irsay told Chappell that he was "treating a leg injury" that had developed a serious hematoma.

He then underwent major surgery to address a back/leg problem, per the report, which "required a lengthy stay in the hospital."

"Irsay noted he’s been 'home for quite a while' and has kept in constant contact with general manager Chris Ballard and coach Shane Steichen," Chappell wrote. "Irsay’s latest surgery has greatly limited his mobility and will keep him from taking his normal prominent place in the Colts’ draft war room at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center starting Thursday evening."

Irsay — who has been open about his battle with addiction to alcohol and painkillers in the past — was named the team's vice president and general manager in 1984, one month after they moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis. He served in those roles until 1996 and has been the owner, chairman and CEO since 1997.