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Some NFL fans believe that the growing criticism of Indianapolis Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon’s sideline behavior is sexist.
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Irsay-Gordon, who took over the Indianapolis Colts for her father, Jim Irsay, often stands on the sidelines during games. She was seen on the sideline during Sunday night’s overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Irsay-Gordon will often take notes during games. It’s unclear what she’s writing down.
“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.”
Irsay-Gordon 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.”
But not everyone loves to see it, with some arguing that she is being a distraction to the players and coaches.
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But some believe that the criticism of Irsay-Gordon’s behavior is biased, suggesting that we wouldn’t be doing this if she was a man.
Is the criticism of Irsay-Gordon sexist?
“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.
Many, though, say that we would be doing the same thing if it was Jerry Jones or Robert Kraft or any other prominent NFL owner.
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Where do you stand on the controversy?
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This story was originally published September 23, 2026 at 11:46 AM.