Jim Irsay has spoken publicly for the first time since his OUI arrest, when he was pulled over with numerous pill bottles and $29,000 in cash in a metal briefcase. Irsay sat down for an interview with the Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz, and the result is exactly the kind of soft-pedaled interview that every embattled rich guy looks to begin his redemption narrative with.
(We'll pause here to note that Kravitz has previously been very sympathetic to Irsay, and admitted to not writing about Irsay's addiction problems in the past despite having a pretty good idea of what was going on. All in the game.)
Irsay doesn't say anything too revelatory here, but there is one particularly strange moment:
He did, however, shed some light on some other subjects.
Like the 29 grand he had in his vehicle when he was arrested. Fact is, Irsay said, it's not unusual for him to have that kind of cash. Unafraid of making the point, he showed me a briefcase on his desk. When he opened it, I saw stacks and stacks of $100 bills.
"I don't know why that was leaked to the press or what it had to do with anything," he said. "You're talking about someone who is extremely generous, and I say that humbly. That's the way I try to live my life and it has nothing to do with the law. What's been reported out there, there's been a sensationalizing about things that have nothing to do with the law. It shouldn't be an issue."
Somehow, Kravtiz lets that explanation stand on its own, choosing not to push Irsay into a more thorough explanation of how the hell he expects to believe that he's just always walking around with suitcases full of cash on him.
There is also this:
I asked him if he felt he needed to apologize, to Colts fans, to the league, to anybody.
"I don't think that's something I'll address right now," he said. "There are certain things I want to say that I can't say. We need to let the process go forward and I'll address that later. I'm a human being; if there's something I have to apologize for, I would, but at this point, it wouldn't be appropriate. It sets me up, like if you don't say you're sorry, then why aren't you saying your sorry, and if you say you're sorry, then you must have done something wrong."
Just so we're all clear, Jim Irsay definitely did something wrong when he got behind the wheel of a car while high as balls on oxycodone and/or hydrocodone.