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Time of India
28-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Colts reveal memorial details to honor owner Jim Irsay
A private memorial service for late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay will be held on Monday, June 2 at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, the team announced Wednesday. The service will be closed to the public, with a public tribute to be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the Irsay family has requested donations to Kicking the Stigma, the mental health initiative founded by Irsay. The Colts have been planning multiple tributes to honor his legacy throughout the week following his passing. Jim Irsay died peacefully in his sleep on May 21 at the age of 65, the team confirmed. He is survived by his daughters, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt, and Kalen Jackson. Irsay was a central figure in Colts history, having served as the team's principal owner since 1997 and playing a major role in the franchise's move to Indianapolis. He originally became the youngest general manager in NFL history in 1984 at just 25 years old. Under Irsay's ownership, the Colts reached the playoffs 16 times, won two AFC championships, and captured a Super Bowl title during the 2006 season. He was also known for his philanthropy, personal generosity, and outspoken support for mental health awareness. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Anvisa aprova solução para ajudar a reduzir gordura visceral da barriga em 7 dias! Você Mais Saudável Hoje Saiba Mais Undo Following Irsay's death, tributes poured in from across the NFL community, including heartfelt messages from former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and many others. "Jim's dedication and passion for the Indianapolis Colts in addition to his generosity, commitment to the community, and most importantly, his love for his family were unsurpassed," the Colts said in a statement last week. To honor Irsay throughout the 2025 NFL season, the Colts will wear a commemorative patch on their jerseys. The design features a black circle bearing Irsay's initials in bold white, overlaid by his signature and the trademark smiley face he often included in autographs. The team also released a tribute video and published a detailed story about Irsay's contributions to the franchise and community on its official channels after Memorial Day weekend. Further information about the upcoming public tribute is expected to be released by the Colts in the coming weeks. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
Indianapolis Star
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Late Colts owner Jim Irsay's private memorial service will be held Monday
INDIANAPOLIS — Colts owner Jim Irsay will be remembered in a private memorial service at St. Luke's United Methodist Church on Monday, the team announced on Wednesday morning. The memorial service will be closed to the public. A public tribute for Irsay, according to the team, will be announced at a later date. The Irsay family asked for donations to Kicking the Stigma, the mental health initiative founded by Irsay, instead of flowers. The Colts have been working through plans to pay tribute to Irsay throughout the week. Irsay, who has been one of the team's primary decision-makers throughout the franchise's four-plus decades in Indianapolis and served as the sole owner for 28 years, died peacefully in his sleep on May 21 at the age of 65. An outpouring of support from the city of Indianapolis, the NFL community and the rest of the world followed, and after Memorial Day weekend, the team released a video tribute to Irsay on its social media accounts, along with a story detailing his time with the Colts.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Inside Jim Irsay's tangled legacy: Divorce secrets, activist girlfriend, and how his daughters are taking over the Colts
Inside Jim Irsay's fractured marriage and a hidden struggle (Getty Images) Jim Irsay, the late billionaire owner of the Indianapolis Colts, left behind more than just a storied NFL franchise—he left a family navigating a complex legacy. While his daughters are expected to carry on the operations of the Colts, his ex-wife, Meg Coyle, is opening up about the painful past that shaped their family behind closed doors. Daughters take the reins: The next generation of Colts leadership steps forward Irsay's three daughters—Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt, and Kalen Jackson—were officially named vice chair/owners in 2012, marking a gradual transition of leadership within the Colts organization. Carlie Irsay-Gordon is widely expected to assume primary control of football operations, a role she previously stepped into during her father's battles with rehab and DUI-related incidents. Each daughter brings a unique set of experiences and skills to the table. Carlie interned in football operations and marketing, later overseeing digital content and production. Kalen Jackson is deeply involved in philanthropic efforts, spearheading the 'Kicking the Stigma' initiative to promote mental health awareness. Casey Foyt, who helped plan the NFL's first overseas game in London, rounds out the trio with a global sports marketing perspective. A fractured marriage and a hidden struggle: Meg Coyle breaks her silence Meg Coyle, Irsay's ex-wife of 33 years, remained largely out of the spotlight—until now. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo On LinkedIn, she shared a raw account of her experience behind the scenes of their 'perfect' public image. 'I certainly didn't pursue the spotlight, but it definitely found me—through marriage,' she wrote. 'I covered up the truth of my broken marriage. I lived under the cloud of my husband's drug addiction. I did what I could to protect my children. And in the process, I lost my Self.' Her candid confession paints a far different picture than the polished PR statements released at the time of their 2013 divorce, where the couple said they had 'mutually agreed' to part ways. In his later years, Irsay dated vegan activist Michelle Paul, who reportedly helped guide him toward holistic health. Paul partnered with Irsay in an effort to free Lolita, a captive orca, drawing praise from animal rights groups. Yet, she was notably absent from the Colts' official death announcement, which only acknowledged his daughters. Also Read: What made Jim Irsay a beloved figure in the NFL and how the NFL community is remembering the Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay's death closes a chapter, but the story of his family—and their future at the helm of the Colts—is just beginning. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jim Irsay's Daughters With Ex-Wife Meg Coyle Will Likely Share Colts' Ownership
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay had three daughters with his ex-wife Meg Coyle, and they are expected to share in ownership of the team. That's according to The Indianapolis Star, which reported that his daughter Carlie Irsay-Gordon "is expected to assume control of the Colts' football operations." Advertisement The three daughters "were formally given the titles of vice chair/owners in 2012," according to The Star. The team's website contains a photo of Irsay with his three daughters under ownership. In recent years, Irsay also had a vegan activist girlfriend named Michelle Paul, according to The Indianapolis Star. Irsay-Gordon previously took over the team's operations during struggles her father had with rehab and DUI arrests, The Star reported. A lot is at stake as Irsay's net worth was $4.8 billion, according to Forbes. He inherited the Indianapolis Colts from his dad, Forbes reported. According to a 2013 article in The Indianapolis Star, Irsay and his wife decided to file for divorce after 33 years of marriage that year. Indianapolis Colts vice chair and co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon looks up at the big screen prior to an NFL game between the Washington Commanders and the Indianapolis Colts on October 30, 2022 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN."After 33 years, we have mutually agreed to end our marriage," the Irsays said in a news release printed by IndyStar at the time. "Meg will continue to pursue her professional interests and her commitment to our children and grandchildren, while Jim will maintain 100 percent ownership of the Indianapolis Colts and his other business interests." Advertisement That statement added, "Although the decision to end our marriage is a difficult one, it is the right decision for us and our family. We appreciate your respect for, and understanding of, our privacy." Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, and daughter Kalen Irsay-Jackson attend the 15th Annual HOPE Luncheon Seminar at The Plaza Hotel on November 10, 2021 in New York had three daughters together: Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Irsay (Jackson), described by IndyStar as "each a vice chair/owner of the team." The team's website says Kalen Jackson "is entering her 12th season as vice chair/owner. She joined the team in 2010 as vice president and, along with sisters Carlie Irsay-Gordon and Casey Foyt, represents the next generation of Colts ownership." Advertisement It adds: "Like her sisters, Jackson grew up with the Colts organization as a significant part of her life since birth. She is involved in various functions of the organization, including coordinating the Irsay family's community and philanthropic efforts. Jackson currently leads Kicking the Stigma, the family's initiative to raise awareness about mental health disorders and remove the stigma often associated with these illnesses." Carlie Irsay-Gordon "is in her 12th season as vice chair/owner. She joined the Colts as vice president in 2008 and, along with sisters Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson, represents the next generation of ownership of the club," the Colts website says. "Raised in and around the organization, Irsay-Gordon interned with the Colts football operations and marketing departments while pursuing her undergraduate degree in religious studies from Skidmore College. She is involved in all aspects of the organization, with an emphasis on football operations and the team's digital, social media, content and production operations." As for Casey Foyt, the website says, "After graduating from Indiana University with a degree in sports marketing, Foyt worked for the NFL in London, England planning the first regular season NFL game played outside North America, as well as special events associated with the game." Advertisement Over the years. Irsay's relationship history also included the vegan girlfriend named Michelle Paul. In 2023, Peta wrote that "Michelle has been working on exciting projects with her partner, Jim Irsay, the owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts football team. Earlier this year, animal activists celebrated his unprecedented announcement that he was leading the effort to move the orca Lolita, who had spent decades in captivity, to a seaside sanctuary." According to The Indianapolis Star, Irsay and his girlfriend "met in June 2022, when she was living in L.A. She came into his life to help Irsay with holistic health." However, the Colts' statement announcing Irsay's death only mentions his daughters. Advertisement 'Jim's dedication and passion for the Indianapolis Colts in addition to his generosity, commitment to the community, and most importantly his love for his family were unsurpassed," the Colts wrote in the statement posted to X. "Our deepest sympathies go to his daughters, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt, Kalen Jackson, and his entire family as we grieve with them.' On LinkedIn, Irsay's ex-wife, Meg Coyle, writes that she worked for One Body Incorporated. "I certainly didn't pursue the spotlight, but it definitely found me—through marriage. For more than 30 years, I lived in a perfect world," her LinkedIn page says. "A perfect husband. A perfect family. A perfect future. Except none of that was true." The post says, "I covered up the truth of my broken marriage. I lived under the cloud of my husband's drug addiction. I did what I could to protect my children. And in the process, I lost my Self." Related: Colts' Owner Jim Irsay's Last Social Media Post Came Hours before Death Related: Jim Irsay's Cause of Death Unclear, But Health Issues Were Well-Known
Indianapolis Star
22-05-2025
- Indianapolis Star
Jim Irsay's legacy is about mental health. It's a gift few pro sports owners can give
As I look back at Jim Irsay's life and my brief time in it, I'm still glued to that seat in his back-corner West 56th Street office looking at a guitar once owned by Kurt Cobain and realizing that it, like much of the Colts owner's life and obsessions, was about so much more than strings or a felt. Irsay died Wednesday at the age of 65, and in the ways his life will be dissected in the coming hours and months and years, there's something in that guitar I'll remember more than any of them. It's his willingness to open up conversations about mental health. Actually, forget willingness. More of a God-forsaken desire to kick the damn door in, as if it was what he was placed on this earth to do. Irsay didn't do things halfway, and for the extreme results that created in so many places of his life, I find it most honorable that he didn't stop at lip service when it came to mental health. That's the unintended benefit of having wounds that turn to scars. From battles with drugs and alcohol addictions that manifested in a DUI arrest and trips to rehab to some of his most eccentric moments and public disappearances, they've all created in him an empathy that's nearly impossible to find among the type of people who own pro sports franchises. Think about the impossibility of that idea in a world where Charles Woodson just became a minority owner of the Browns by investing more than $5 million -- to own less than 1% of the franchise's total stake. Irsay's personality, oftentimes, was like a middle finger to the character map in "Succession." This isn't to say he didn't have moments of living out of touch. Perspective lacked in him the way it does in people who have a lot of money or too many decades separating them from the people they're around. Because of his unique accessibility, those flaws lived in famous soundbites, such as his "If I die tonight..." rant comparing his and Jonathan Taylor's privilege amid a contract standoff or when he went on HBO and claimed he was targeted by Carmel police because he's a "rich, white billionaire" or the bizarre string of tweets afterward that painted himself as a victim. But if you're willing to speak in nuance about a complicated man, there's an enduring story here, too. Irsay became a sole owner of an NFL franchise through inheritance from his father, Bob Irsay, but he never sat on that pot of gold. Sometimes, fans and those closest to him just prayed he would, like in the dysfunction of a 2022 season that featured two firings, three quarterback benchings and Jeff Saturday's arrival as interim coach. But the spikes in activity, from rehab to a Super Bowl, created something unique to sports along the way. It's a legacy that went from accidental and embarrassing to intentional and enduring. Since 2020, it has an official name of Kicking the Stigma, and it'll carry on through the work of his daughter, Kalen Jackson, as well as so many in the Colts organization. It goes back to that guitar of Cobain's, the one he used in the music video "Smells Like Teen Spirit." That May 2022 day, Irsay was helping to auction it off for Mental Health Awareness Month. Cobain, the lead singer and guitarist of Nirvanna, famously took his own life after battles with drugs, alcohol and mental health demons. That day, Irsay began the bidding process with a $2 million check. The moment struck me, in the days following some vulnerable and viral comments from Shaquille Leonard, that this was all about more than a guitar or a check or a photo opportunity or a franchise initiative. This was something felt and lived by the man in a custom suit with enough money to toss out in $100 bills at training camp and who signed the checks of millionaire athletes. I knew it not because he said it but because the players did. So I asked, and he beamed as he answered: "It's so cool and remarkable to see big, strong football players who are 6-4, 280 and the strongest men in the world at what they do, and yet they talk about these things that make them so fragile," Irsay said. "We're all so fragile." Irsay knew what it was like to want to be like those 6-4, 280-pound monsters. He used to lift with them and then competed in weight lifting championships, doing damage on a back that became hard to witness in his final years. He, like so many of us who love sports, met a mirror of mortality that eventually comes for everyone. It eventually came for Leonard, one of the greatest athletes I have ever been around. But two weeks before that guitar sale, Leonard arrived at a press conference with something unique buried inside. It was the first time he spoke since the previous season, his best yet, where he led the NFL with 15 forced turnovers to become a first-team All-Pro for the third time before his 27th birthday. He made a quick comment in a long answer that referenced a lacking mental space, and I asked if he could explain more. And away he went for two minutes about having a father and sister get sick, a cousin die, an ankle not heal, a hometown look down on him and a mental space that just started to crater. "A lot of times when I came in, I couldn't get over it. I wasn't smiling. I fell out of love with the game. I wasn't enjoying it anymore," Leonard said. "... I ask everybody how they're doing. Sometimes it's OK to ask me how I'm doing. Don't ask me just to ask me. Ask me to truly have a conversation with me and to understand that I'm a human, too. I have problems. I go through things that a lot of people are going through." "Sometimes it can build on you. You hold in all of your emotions." -Darius Leonard. MORE: 'I needed to work on me': Colts' Darius Leonard took on mental health in offseason Leonard was one of several Colts stars I found open to talking about the vulnerabilities that players were more reticent on in my stops covering the Bears and Lions. There was Kenny Moore II, the day I met him, sharing about how he didn't play football until his senior year of high school out of terror of what the big recruits in south Georgia would do to his compact frame. There was Michael Pittman Jr., asking if we could talk on an opposite training camp field as the rest of the media and fans, so he could open up on a stuttering issue that led to bullying when he was young and built the fire he later cracked linebackers and punched helmets with. MORE: How Colts' Kenny Moore II went from a boy scared of hits to Man of the Year MORE: The multiple personalities of Michael Pittman Jr. There was Ryan Kelly, talking at great length about the death of his infant daughter, Mary Kate; or Tyler Goodson, speaking with tears but also conviction about the hate and threats he knew were coming after dropping that pass on 4th-and-1; or Jelani Woods, opening up about his friends on the Virginia football team who were shot to death; or JuJu Brents, who, when I apologized one day for asking him to relive his latest crushing injury, said, "No, thank you for checking in on me." In a rage against the tropes of masculinity in this country, Colts players have found a way to turn their vulnerability into a strength, much like their owner. It's May again. This is Mental Health Awareness Month, and so although any time is tragic to die, this timing is also cosmic and true to what Irsay built on this planet. Like with Cobain's guitar, a man can die, but a conversation can live on. This is Irsay's legacy. He wrote it with a life that was both like and unlike other owners.
