With football season kicking into full swing, this might be a story that you've forgotten about or, at very least, has taken a backseat. And that's understandable. But still, the pending court date for Colts owner Jim Irsay on charges of operating while intoxicated is a big issue. And it's one that is likely to drag on a bit longer.
According to the Indianapolis Star, Irsay requested a delay for the court date and the request will not be opposed.
A Hamilton Superior Court spokeswoman said today that Irsay's request for a delay of his trial on two misdemeanor charges of impaired driving will likely put the trial date in late October or early November. That is in the middle of the Colts' regular season.
Lawyers filed the request Monday. The Hamilton County prosecutor is not opposing the delay, spokesman Andre Miksha said today.
As the Star goes on to note, Irsay will likely have to appear in court before that, however, to testify in a child custody case set for September 2 - a case which you can read more about in an earlier article from the Star here.
The delay in court dates could prove an interesting dilemma for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Previously, the court date was set before the regular season would begin, so it made sense for Goodell to wait until after the trial to discipline the owner. Now, however, if he does that, he would be delaying any discipline until mid-season, and I doubt that's something he wants to do. He doesn't have to wait until the court dates to bring down discipline, and I think that he needs to announce his punishment of Irsay before the regular season begins. Whether this delay throws a wrench in his decision-making process or not I don't know, but what I do know is that Goodell can't keep dragging this out - he needs to make a ruling and then move on. I'd expect it to be a suspension and a fine for Irsay, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see Goodell come down hard on Irsay after taking it way too easy on Ray Rice. Of course, we'd have to have another conversation then, and this is all speculative and hypothetical, but Goodell's ruling does need to come soon.
Jim Irsay has been given a delay in his court date - hopefully that doesn't give Roger Goodell reason for a delay in discipline.