"These diseases, both alcoholism and addiction, much like bipolar or depression and different illnesses, are still not seen as real diseases . . . That stigma gets carried forward, and it's unfortunate because people die and families get affected and people don't seek treatment."
Irsay was arrested for allegedly operating a vehicle while intoxicated on March 16. He faces four felony counts of possession of a controlled substance. He had $29,000 in cash and bottles of prescription drugs in his vehicle when he was arrested.
He faces a June 19 initial hearing on two misdemeanor counts of impaired driving. A court suspended Irsay's driver's license, effective May 27, for one year following his arrest for driving while intoxicated. Irsay refused a blood test after his arrest in Carmel, a suburb of Indianapolis. Indiana law requires a one-year license suspension for refusing such a test. Police later obtained a warrant ordering Irsay to submit to a blood draw.
Irsay declined to discuss many of the details from the night of his arrest, but he did tell the Star that it's not unusual for him to carry that much money on him, displaying a briefcase full of $100 bills to emphasize his point.
"I don't know why that was leaked to the press or what it had to do with anything," Irsay told the Star. "You're talking about someone who is extremely generous, and I say that humbly. That's the way I try to live my life, and it has nothing to do with the law. What's been reported out there, there's been a sensationalizing about things that have nothing to do with the law. It shouldn't be an issue."
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11062 ... -addiction
