The FBI has launched an investigation into former Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, who took ketamine and other drugs, according to a new report.
The agency has requested information related to Irsay’s death, his illegal and prescription substance use and his relationship with Dr. Harry Haroutunian, an addiction specialist who provided Irsay with drugs leading up to his death, The Washington Post reported, citing a federal grand jury subpoena issued earlier this month.
The FBI could not confirm the reporting to The Independent, citing agency policy. The Independent has also reached out to Haroutunian for comment.
Irsay, who had talked about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction in the past, died last May at the age of 65. At the time, the Colts said he “passed away peacefully in his sleep.”
The NFL man had some known health issues after he fell in his home in December 2023, the Associated Press previously reported. A month after his fall, it was announced that Irsay was being treated for a severe respiratory illness. In the summer of 2024, Irsay told reporters he was recovering from two surgeries.
But, according to a Washington Post report published in August, that wasn’t the whole story. Irsay had secretly relapsed and was being given ketamine injections and opioid pills from Haroutunian in the last months of his life, the report found.
The Washington Post said it had found evidence that Irsay suffered from drug overdoses within a two-week span: one in December 2023 in his Indianapolis home and another 12 days later at a resort near Miami.
Haroutunian called Irsay a “brother” in a comment to The Washington Post when its report came out over the summer.
“I dedicated 18 months of my life to try to care for him…as a brother,” he said. “We did everything we could to make him as comfortable as possible.”
The reported FBI investigation comes after five people were federally charged in connection with the fatal drug overdose of Friends star Matthew Perry. Two doctors who helped provide ketamine to Perry had pleaded guilty to their charges and were subsequently sentenced.
