Tony Romo's legal trouble over a July arrest has gotten worse, even as the former Cowboys quarterback and currently-benched color analyst reportedly takes "full responsibility for his actions."
Romo, 46, was arrested July 23 in his home state of Wisconsin following a traffic stop in which he was driving in an unsafe manner shortly after playing in a golf tournament. The four-time Pro Bowler initially declined to perform a breathalyzer test at the scene and then performed poorly on further tests administered by police inside a parking garage. Romo was subsequently booked for suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence and later released.
On Thursday, three new citations were tacked on: unsafe passing on the right (the original infraction
that got him stopped), first-offense OWI (operating while intoxicated, the official legal term in Wisconsin), and possession of an open container.
Shortly thereafter, a statement was issued, per TMZ and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“Tony accepts full responsibility for his actions and has taken proactive steps to ensure that this isolated civil matter is properly resolved. We are working with local authorities to bring this matter to a close and we are communicating with CBS about next steps."
But as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk points out, that statement was not issued by Romo. It was instead sent to several outlets- PFT included- with specific instructions to attribute the quote to "an unnamed spokesperson."
Over a month after the fact, Romo has yet to personally address the incident or directly answer any questions about the fallout. That's not a great look from someone seemingly eager to make amends, regain his high-profile job, and actually take full responsibility for his actions.
CBS previously placed Romo on indefinite leave, with J.J. Watt taking his spot alongside Jim Nantz on the network's top gameday broadcast team. Romo is currently scheduled for a court appearance on Sept. 21, meaning he would miss at least Weeks 1 and 2 of the regular season for CBS. Some industry insiders are already suggesting that- regardless of the outcome of the case in Wisconsin- Romo could remain sidelined by the network, perhaps for the entirety of the 2026 season.
Also at question is Romo's gargantuan contract. He has four years left and about $72 million remaining; CBS said earlier this month that Romo's future with the network is an "evolving situation [that] we are still assessing."
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Former Cowboys QB Tony Romo 'accepts full responsibility' for arrest, says spokesperson
