The FBI is investigating the circumstances of late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay’s death and the addiction recovery specialist who treated Irsay in his final days, according to a report from the Washington Post.
On Jan. 22, the Post reported that it reviewed a federal grand jury subpoena showing that the FBI requested ‘records and information relating to Irsay’s death, his ‘substance (illegal and prescription) use,’ and his ‘relationship with Dr. Harry Haroutunian,” an addiction recovery specialist based in southern California.
Federal agents traveled to Indianapolis ‘for several days’ in January to interview people who were close to Irsay, according to two people the Post cited with knowledge of the agency’s investigation. Those people remained anonymous as they were not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.
The late Colts owner died at 65 last May while vacationing in Beverley Hills. At the time of Irsay’s death, Haroutunian was staying at the same hotel ‘and overseeing Irsay’s treatment,’ according to the Post.
Irsay’s death certificate, which Haroutunian signed, listed the official cause of death as cardiac arrest caused by acute pneumonia, with previous heart conditions also contributing. The Post reported last August that the Beverley Hills Police Department, which initially investigated Irsay’s death, did not perform a toxicology report or autopsy.
Last August, the Post also reported that there was evidence Irsay had ‘secretly relapsed’ after years of struggling with substance abuse, despite his public claims that he had remained clean. The Post reported that Irsay suffered three overdoses in the six years before his death – once in 2020 and two more times in a two-week span in 2023.
Haroutunian served as Irsay’s treating physician throughout his tumultuous battle with addiction, according to the Post.
The Post reported that Haroutunian was giving Irsay opioid prescriptions and ketamine injections in his final months, after his relapse. The volume of Haroutunian’s prescriptions – as many as 200 opioid pills shortly before Irsay’s two overdoses in 2023, per the Post – and ketamine treatments ‘alarmed’ those close to Irsay, the Post reported.
Ketamine is a drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as an anesthetic, but its use to treat patients with substance abuse problems ‘is controversial,’ per the Post, for the drug’s own potential for abuse. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), ketamine produces hallucinations and can cause rises in heart rate and blood pressure.
Irsay was a vocal advocate for battling mental health issues and did not shy away from publicly commenting on his battle with addiction. In 2020, Irsay and the Colts launched a charity called Kicking the Stigma, which is dedicated to ‘raise awareness around mental health and combat the feelings of shame associated with mental illness,’ according to its website.
Irsay inherited the Colts from his father, Robert, after Robert’s death in 1997. Jim Irsay passed ownership of the Colts on to his three daughters, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson, after his death. Irsay-Gordon serves as the team’s principal owner and CEO.