Tony Romo Pleads No Contest to OWI, Reveals Alcohol Battle Tied to Ache Remedy

Tony Romo pleaded no contest to working whereas intoxicated in Milwaukee County court docket on September 1, marking the decision of the case stemming from his July arrest and prompting the CBS Sports analyst to publicly element a battle with alcohol he tied to dependence on ache remedy following a number of again surgical procedures.

A Milwaukee County court docket imposed a six-month license revocation, a $784 nice due by November 2, necessary completion of an alcohol evaluation program, and a requirement that Romo set up an ignition interlock machine on any car for at the very least one yr after his license is reinstated, WMTV15 News and different retailers reported. The three extra citations filed alongside the OWI cost — unsafe passing on the precise, possessing open intoxicants in a car, and refusing to take an intoxication take a look at — have been dismissed as a part of the disposition.

Romo addressed the end result in a press release posted to Instagram.

“I own this completely,” Romo wrote. “Multiple back surgeries ended my career earlier than I expected and left me with constant, debilitating pain. That 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 that the reason was not meant to excuse his conduct: “None of this is an excuse. These are my failures, and I take responsibility for them.”

He additionally indicated he intends to return to broadcasting as soon as he has addressed his well being.

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

CBS Sports positioned Romo on indefinite depart eight days after his July 23 arrest, elevating J.J. Watt to the community’s lead NFL analyst function alongside play-by-play broadcaster Jim Nantz.

CBS instructed Puck’s John Ourand it had “no comment” on Romo’s assertion, in keeping with NBC Sports.

No timetable for a possible return has been introduced.

Romo was arrested on suspicion of OWI on southbound Interstate 43 in Milwaukee on July 23, after a Milwaukee County Sheriff’s deputy stopped him whereas he was getting back from the Wisconsin Amateur Championship golf event in West Bend. He carried out poorly on standardized discipline sobriety exams and was taken into custody. The three now-dismissed citations have been filed August 27, greater than a month after the arrest.