Jim Irsay threatens to sue ESPN's First Take
Colts owner Jim Irsay made a stir by saying — and then insisting — on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel that his 2014 arrest came from prejudice against white billionaires. It prompted a reaction from various shows, including ESPN's First Take.
Apparently, something said on First Take got Irsay's attention. To the point that he has suggested he'll sue.
"1st take, your gonna get your ass Sued, because there was NO Alcohol, No illegal Drugs/$29,000 dollars is low for me to be carrying in, 2014 arrest/I give away $2000-$10,000 dollars to the homeless and needed on the street, All the time and pass it on, making the world better," Irsay posted on X.
Irsay added this message, apparently in response to the notion that he has worked for nothing and been handed everything he has.
"My Grandparents came across Ellis Island, with just the shirt on their back..penniless and escaping Jewish Concentration Camps… I grew up in a horrible home where both my brother and sister died in a Car Crash in 1971 I worked for my living/bought 30% of the Colts Bank Loan," Irsay said.
Wednesday's discussion on First Take included a reference to him "driving drunk" and being "intoxicated" and "drugs and money and all those things in the car."
Irsay pleaded guilty in September 2014 to operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Regardless of whether a minor factual error was made when discussing the facts surrounding Irsay's arrest, the last thing he should do is sue. The financial damages in defamation cases are determined by assessing the harm done to the plaintiff's reputation. It's therefore important to establish the plaintiff's pre-existing reputation.
Let's just say Irsay's wasn't stellar or pristine. Also, the mechanism for establishing his pre-defamation reputation would include grilling him under oath. Where he likely would ramble incessantly in response to many of the questions posed to him, perhaps inevitably saying something (or many things) that would be fatal to his case.
Frankly, the less he says, the better. In every setting. Someone should have urged him to not submit to the Real Sports interview.
But vanity is among the most powerful of drugs. He had a chance to show off his hockey rink and all the stuff he has bought and they played a clip of him singing Gimme Shelter with a band and the whole thing is sort of sad because it appears that many if not most if not all of his struggles trace to his upbringing.
Even at the age of 64, Irsay seems to be searching for the love, the approval, and the validation he didn't get when he was young. He'll take it wherever he can find it, even if the process includes saying goofy things that will make plenty of people ultimately think less of him.
