Tony Romo opens up about pain medication and alcohol dependence after pleading no contest to Wisconsin OWI
Tony Romo on Tuesday pleaded no contest to operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a charge resulting from his July arrest on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated in Milwaukee, and then he released a statement admitting an "over-reliance on alcohol" to treat his chronic back issues.
First the legal part:
According to online court records, Romo's license will be revoked for six months and he will be required to pay a fine of $784. The records also show Romo must complete an Alcohol Assessment Program and install an ignition interlock device on any vehicle he owns
Romo, who played for the Dallas Cowboys and is now a CBS NFL analyst, was found to have a "strong odor of alcohol" during the July traffic stop, according to police records.
Police allegedly found an open bottle of an alcoholic beverage on the passenger side of Romo's vehicle.
Court records show Romo was cited for refusing to take a test for intoxication and first offense OWI.
Now comes the sad but in some ways uplifting part:
NFL ANALYST TONY ROMO PLACED ON LEAVE BY CBS SPORTS FOLLOWING DRUNK DRIVING ARREST IN WISCONSIN
Romo released a statement on his Instagram account to his 658,000 followers in which he took responsibility for his actions.
"This morning, I faced a recent personal failure by pleading no contest to a civil offense of OWI in Wisconsin," Romo said in his statement. "I own this completely."
And then Romo outlined his struggles with pain killers and then alcohol, which he said he used to wean himself off the pain killers.
"Multiple back surgeries ended my career earlier than I expected, and left me with constant debilitating pain," Romo said. "The pain led to a dependence on pain medication, and my efforts to get off those medications led to an over-reliance on alcohol.
"As I have taught my three young sons, when you fall short, you stand up and take full responsibility. That is an important first step. The harder and more important step is examining the path that brought you here and making the changes necessary to move forward.
"The path requires honesty. None of this is an excuse. These are my failures, and I take full responsibility for them."
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Romo's authenticity, which made him the lead NFL analyst at CBS, is evident in his statement, particularly when he shares the extreme lows of his arrest and his attempt to rebound.
"The past month has been difficult, but it has also been personally significant," Romo said. "It required me to confront and own my mistakes fully, to the Lord, to myself, to my family, and now to the public.
"I am working closely with a team of doctors to address my health and make the necessary changes. I am deeply grateful for the support of my family, my friends, and the NFL community, including players, coaches and owners.
"Your encouragement has meant more to me than you know."
In a world where social media likes measure approval, Romo so far has nearly 17,000 likes for his posted statement.
One of those was from Fox Sports lead analyst Tom Brady.