It is the off-season in the National Football League which means that teams are in the process of upgrading their rosters in the hopes of winning next season’s Super Bowl. The off-season in the NFL also tends to keep law enforcement in this country busy as some players familiarize themselves with the back seat of a squad car. Front office personnel in the NFL are not immune from being finger printed as well. Last summer the Denver Broncos director of player of pro personnel Matt Russell and director of pro personnel Tom Heckert Jr. were each arrested in separate incidents just several days apart for drunk driving. Now in an off-season that has already seen several NFL players get introduced to central bookings, you can add Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay to that list.
Irsay was arrested this past Monday and he was charged with DWI along with four counts of possession of a controlled substance. Irsay’s arrest is indeed another black eye for the NFL.
Irsay is responsible for laying down the law for his Colts franchise, but now it is up to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to reprimand him.
Since taking over as NFL commissioner in 2006, Goodell has taken a strong stance on conduct that is deemed as detrimental to the league and nobody has been immune to it.
Aside from numerous players that have been fined and/or suspended by Goodell, he has also come down hard on teams. In 2007 after the New England Patriots were caught “spying” on the New York Jets, Goodell fined Patriots head coach Bill Belichick $500k, the Patriots organization $250k, and he stripped New England of their 2008 first-round pick. In 2012, Goodell went after the New Orleans Saints for “Bountygate”. Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was accused of creating a culture in New Orleans where defensive players were encouraged to injure and knock opposing players out of games. Goodell’s investigation led to Williams being suspended indefinitely. Saints head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season while Saints general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for the first eight games of the 2012 season. Saints assistant coach Joe Vitt was suspended for the first six games of the 2012 season while the Saints organization had to forfeit second-round picks in both 2012 and 2013. The Saints were also fined $500k by the NFL.
In spite of the fact that Goodell works for the NFL owners, he has no choice but to drop the hammer on Irsay or he will have to deal with the wrath of the NFL Players Association due to the fact that some players feel that they have been unfairly targeted by Goodell in the past. Regardless of the legal ramifications that Irsay could face, he can expect a hefty fine and possibly a suspension from Goodell’s office. But Irsay has been walking on eggshells for a bit.
Following the 2011 NFL season, Irsay released quarterback Peyton Manning who quickly signed with the Denver Broncos. This past season Irsay took a jab at Manning due to the fact that he felt his Colts should have won more than one Super Bowl Championship under Manning. When Irsay attempted to back track on those comments he appeared to have been under the influence of alcohol.
Since this week’s arrest Irsay has voluntarily checked into a rehab facility in order to get his life back on track and once again to get in the good graces of Goodell.
When Goodell came on as the NFL commissioner in 2006, I doubt that he expected to have to deal with drugs, injury lawsuits, alleged killers, and now non-law abiding owners just to name a few of his new duties in order to “protect” the shield. With a reported net worth of $1.6 billion, Irsay more than likely will buy his way out of any legal woes that could come down the pike following his arrest. But once he is forced to make that trip to New York City to meet with Goodell, not even Irsay’s charm or deep pockets can save him the commissioner’s law.
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