Current:Home > NewsColts owner Jim Irsay needs to check his privilege and remember a name: George Floyd -ChatGPT
Colts owner Jim Irsay needs to check his privilege and remember a name: George Floyd
View
Date:2025-04-19 10:09:42
Do you want to see what privilege looks like? In all of its arrogance and ignorance. In all of its lack of historical knowledge. In its lack of understanding of how race and power in America works. Do you want to see? Look no further than Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, in a staggering television interview dripping with almost unfathomable ignorance and memory holes.
Irsay spoke to journalist Andrea Kremer from “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” on a segment scheduled to air on Nov. 21, and as she has done for decades, as well as anyone in sports journalism ever, she got an interview subject to open up. To reveal their inner selves. And that’s what Irsay did and what we saw inside was something remarkably problematic.
Irsay spoke about a number of topics, including his battle with addiction. But one of the most interesting parts of the interview is when Irsay talks about his arrest in Indiana in 2014 for driving under the influence. According to records obtained at the time by the Indianapolis Star, officers "recovered numerous prescription medication bottles containing pills.” They also discovered approximately $29,000 in cash.
Irsay pled guilty to a misdemeanor count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He also admitted to having a number of drugs in his system including hydrocodone, oxycodone and Xanax.
Irsay tells Kremer that “the arrest was wrong” and he only pled guilty because he wanted the entire ordeal to end. This is where the interview gets troublesome.
Read more NFL coverage:NFL power rankings Week 12: Eagles, Chiefs affirm their place at top
"I am prejudiced against because I'm a rich, white billionaire," Irsay told Kremer. "If I'm just the average guy down the block, they're not pulling me in, of course not."
Kremer then asked: "Do you know what it's going to sound like if people hear you say they're prejudiced against a rich, white guy?"
"I don't care what it sounds like. It's the truth," he said. "You know, Andrea, I could give a damn what people think how anything sounds or sounds like. The truth is the truth and I know the truth."
Let’s all pause for a moment and give our prayers to the rich, white billionaires. They need our support. It’s a rough life for them. The tax breaks. The private jets. The mansions. Please be considerate in their time of need.
It would be easy to dig into the data about the advantages rich, white men have in this country. Or, white men, period. Or how Black Americans are killed at a higher rate by police than any other group.
But I truly want to focus on one person, someone Irsay apparently needs to be reminded of: his name is George Floyd.
You see, privilege is when you, who has more money than many Americans combined, with a straight face say you are the victim, apparently forgetting what a true victim looks like. Floyd, and many people of color, are actually targeted by police. Floyd was brutally murdered by multiple officers.
Irsay doesn't seem to understand the multiple Americas that exist when it comes to law enforcement and encounters with police. Or he just doesn't care. Many times, encounters with police for people of color are exasperating or life altering. Or life ending.
Even the smallest encounters can be chilling. Several weeks ago, I was jogging around 4:30 in the morning. I was running on the left side of the street and at one point a police cruiser drove by on the right side. It stayed on that side of the street, pulled about 15 feet in front of me, and slowed to my pace and drove like that for a good three minutes. Then, wondering if I was imagining things, I stopped running and stood there. The car stopped. Keeping that distance. I started running again, the car started moving again, keeping the same distance. This part of the encounter lasted about another two minutes.
I was jogging. I didn't have 29K on me in cash like Irsay (unfortunately). The only drug in my system was the caffeine from a drink of Diet Pepsi that I had before leaving. There was no communication from the officer or officers in the vehicle. It just followed me. It was menacing behavior and there was no reason for it. Did the officer think I was going to rob a house while wearing all my night gear where I'm lit up like a Christmas tree?
The police car only stopped following me when something rare happened at that time of the morning: another car came along on the same side of the street as the police car and pulled behind it because the cruiser was moving so slowly. The cruiser was essentially blocking the road. The police car then sped up and drove off.
I apparently drew attention from the police just jogging. I'm unaware of any laws that I could have possibly broken unless there's one for jogging too slow.
This is the world Irsay apparently doesn't see or understand.
Irsay's comments are damaging on a number of fronts but more than anything they demonstrate such glaring privilege. I can't imagine Black Colts players seeing his words and not rolling their eyes.
So, again, do you want to see what privilege looks like? In all of its arrogance and ignorance. In all of its lack of historical knowledge.
Just listen to Irsay.
veryGood! (31262)
Related
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Front and Center
- Travis Kelce Reveals Eye-Popping Price of Taylor Swift Super Bowl Suite
- Is this overlanding camper van the next step for the legendary Mitsubishi Delica?
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Huma Abedin and Alex Soros are engaged: 'Couldn't be happier'
- Montana’s High Court Considers a Constitutional Right to a Stable Climate
- Group sues federal government, claims it ignores harms of idle offshore oil and gas infrastructure
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- Rays' Wander Franco placed on MLB restricted list after human trafficking charges
Ranking
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Olivia Munn's Newsroom Costar Sam Waterston Played This Special Role in Her Wedding to John Mulaney
- Two 80-something journalists tried ChatGPT. Then, they sued to protect the ‘written word’
- Three-time Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams agrees to deal with Titans
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Stock market today: Asian shares zoom higher, with Nikkei over 42,000 after Wall St sets new records
- Former President Barack Obama surprises at USA Basketball's 50th anniversary party
- Michael Douglas Reveals Catherine Zeta-Jones Makes Him Whip It Out in TMI Confession
Recommendation
How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
North Carolina senator’s top aide now CEO of Carolina Hurricanes parent company
Average rate on a 30-year mortgage falls slightly, easing borrowing costs for home shoppers
Groceries are expensive, but they don’t have to break the bank. Here are some tips to save
The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
Is this overlanding camper van the next step for the legendary Mitsubishi Delica?
Here’s how to watch Biden’s news conference as he tries to quiet doubts after his poor debate
14-foot crocodile that killed girl swimming in Australian creek is shot dead by rangers, police say