Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay suspended six games, fined $500k
By Josh Hill
This NFL offseason saw one of the most bizarre stories unfold as an owner – -not a player — was arrested and booked for drug possession. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was arrested back in mid-March for operating a vehicle while under the influence of a substance and was also busted with a bunch of pills that didn’t belong to him.
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After months of not handing out a punishment, the NFL has finally decided on what to do with Irsay and have suspended him for six games this year. In addition to the suspension, Irsay must pay out a whopping $500,000 fine as well. The punishment comes after the NFL was heavily scrutinized for not punishing Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice enough for beating his wife, but the hammer has come down on Irsay.
Colts owner Jim Irsay suspended 6 games, fined $500K per source
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 2, 2014
Per terms of suspension, #Colts owner Jim Irsay can’t be at club facility, attend practice or league functions or be active on social media
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 2, 2014
The punishment seems to be heavy but no matter what was handed down it wouldn’t have been enough to please everyone. The separation between punishment for owners and punishment for players was being prejudged before anything happened to Irsay, but that could change now.
Rice should have been suspended more games, but Irsay’s punishment seems to get the point across that no matter if you’re a player or an owner, if you live by the NFL rules then you have to own up when you break them.