Criticism of Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon’s sideline presence has sparked a debate among NFL fans, with some arguing the backlash has more to do with her being a woman than with anything she’s actually doing on game day.
Irsay-Gordon, who took over the Indianapolis Colts from her father, Jim Irsay, has become a familiar figure on the sideline. She was there Sunday night during the Colts’ overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, often standing close to the action and taking notes. What she’s writing down isn’t clear.
In June of 2025, Irsay-Gordon explained why she likes being that involved. “I think one of the things that I learned in going through, even as back as when we hired Chuck Pagano (in 2012), is that sort of accelerated my, ‘I need to learn more about this,'” Irsay-Gordon told the Colts’ official website in June of 2025.
“‘I need to be able to say, is this person full of BS? Do they even know what they’re talking about?
And I think one of the things that being on the headset has really helped me learn is to the question earlier, it’s such a complex organism of football team and how it operates.”
She added: “You could say, ‘Oh, that person ran that route wrong.’ When you learn to find, ‘Oh, someone tagged the wrong wide receiver, and it wasn’t really the player’s fault - it was the person that called it.’
I think that’s been very valuable, because it also helps us be able to know where do we need to make tweaks, what resources do we need, what do we need to fix. So much of it comes down to just how we operate and how things work and the headsets - I would suggest it for anyone else that has to pay coaches and GMs millions and millions of dollars.
It helps you make a less expensive mistake potentially.”
Still, not everyone wants to see the owner on the sideline. Some fans say it’s a distraction for players and coaches. Others pushed back hard on that idea, arguing the reaction would look different if Irsay-Gordon were a man.
“IS IT BECAUSE SHE’S A WOMAN? During last night’s sunday night football game, NBC showed video of Colts owner Carlie Isray-Gordon and talked about how she sometimes likes to stand on the sidelines with the team during the game.
One of the announcers said she needs to be careful that she’s not labeled a meddling owner. So are they offended the owners on the sidelines…. or that a woman owner is on the sidelines?”
one fan suggested.
“She’s the owner and she can stand where she wants,” one fan added.
“It’s because she’s a woman.”
“They wouldn’t be doing this if she was a man,” one fan added.
Others, though, say the same scrutiny would come for any high-profile NFL owner, pointing to names like Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft.
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