Tony Romo pleads no contest to OWI charge, apologizes for July arrest

CBS NFL analyst and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has pleaded no contest to a charge of operating while intoxicated and has apologized for the actions that led to his July arrest.

Romo was arrested on 23 July following a traffic stop in Wisconsin. CBS has since placed him on leave from his role as its lead NFL analyst.

According to Milwaukee County court records, Romo lost his driving privileges for six months and was ordered to complete an alcohol assessment program. He also owes $834. An interlock device must be installed on any vehicle owned or operated by Romo or registered to his name, and that order will remain in effect for at least one year after he is issued a license.

“The past month has been difficult, but it has also been personally significant,” Romo said in a statement on Instagram. “It has required me to confront and own my mistakes fully – to the Lord, to myself, to my family and now to the public.”

Romo said the multiple back surgeries that led to his retirement as a player “left me with constant, debilitating pain”. He noted that the pain “led to a dependence on pain medication, and my efforts to get off those medications led to an over-reliance on alcohol.”

Romo added: “None of this is an excuse. These are my failures and I take responsibility for them.”

Romo said he is working with a team of doctors to address his health and “make the necessary changes.” He thanked his family, friends and the NFL community for their support.

“As I turn my attention to my health, my family, and, in time, my return to CBS, I kindly ask for privacy,” Romo said.

CBS Sports president David Berson said last month that he does not have a timeline for a decision about Romo’s future with the network.

Romo, 46, has been the lead game analyst for CBS’s NFL coverage since 2017 after making four Pro Bowl appearances during a playing career that ran from 2004-16 and was spent entirely with Dallas.

Analyst JJ Watt will join play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on CBS Sports’ lead NFL team during Romo’s absence.

Citations released by the Milwaukee county sheriff’s office indicated that Romo performed poorly on field sobriety tests and that an open bottle of an alcoholic beverage was found in the passenger’s side of his Jeep.

Body camera footage showed Romo telling deputies he had been coming from a golf course and was on his way “to visit grandma and grandpa” when he was stopped. A deputy told Romo he suspected him of being impaired because he had “red glassy eyes” and an “odor of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage”.