Colts owner Jim Irsay throws gasoline on 'First Take' fire in bizarre rant
Jim Irsay couldn't control himself.
One day after the Colts owner turned heads by claiming his status as a white billionaire made him a target during his 2014 DUI arrest, Irsay fired shots at ESPN's "First Take" after host Molly Qerim, Stephen A. Smith, Kimberley A. Martin and Chris Russo criticized him for his tone-deaf remarks.
In an unhinged spew of social media posts on Wednesday, Irsay referenced his "Black Mother Dorthy" (Irsay's mom, Harriet Irsay, was white) and demeaned Martin by calling her "the Woman," "mean and ugly" and a "Nothing Burger" (his capitalization).
Later, he clarified who Dorthy was. "The strongest woman I'll ever know," he wrote.
On "First Take," Martin said she was disappointed in Irsay's initial comments in which he said, "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."
"What's frustrating is, his comments exemplify exactly what people think NFL owners are — detached, just a total lack of awareness of their privilege and the — the flippancy of how they discuss their privilege," said Martin.
Qerim added:
"It's also an opportunity for him there to talk about ... the gravity of the situation in terms of driving drunk, right, while you're intoxicated... So, if you're going to revisit this after 2014, it's an opportunity to address a serious situation where many people have lost their lives. But instead, you took it in that direction?"
"Because he thinks about himself. He doesn't think about anyone else," chimed in Smith.
Russo was the harshest, dismissing Irsay as a "lucky owner."
"He got the team because his father had his team. The Irsay family bailed out of Baltimore. You know, he's had a lot of drugs in the car, he had $29,000 in cash... He wants to talk about Crosby, Stills and Nash and smokin' doobies, go ahead do that all you want. I don't look at him as a legitimate owner anyway. I look at him as a lucky owner."
Irsay said he would sue "First Take" for suggesting he was driving drunk and that he had "illegal Drugs" (again, his capitalization) when he was charged with DUI during a traffic stop on March 16, 2014.
Per the IndyStar, police "found $29,029 in cash — most of it in a briefcase and laundry bag where police also found numerous bottles containing prescription drugs."
The arresting officer "told a supervisor called to the scene that he 'believed Irsay to be intoxicated on a substance other than alcohol.'"
Irsay's initial comments were bizarre, but his undignified response to the "First Take" crew, resorting to personal insults, was even worse.
If he's upset about appearing out of touch, ranting on social media won't help.
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