Court disposition and penalties
Tony Romo entered a no contest plea Tuesday to a first-offense charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated stemming from an arrest last month in Milwaukee.
Online judicial records show the court ordered Romo to pay a $784 fine, complete a mandatory alcohol assessment program and have an ignition interlock device installed on his vehicles, Kbur reported. His driver’s license was suspended for six months. In exchange for the plea, three additional civil citations — including allegations of driving with an open container and making an unsafe lane pass — were formally dismissed.
Law-enforcement records referenced by Kbur also state Romo failed the roadside sobriety assessments and refused a breathalyzer at the scene.
Arrest details, personal statement and workplace pause
An arrest report indicates Romo was stopped at a highway interchange in Milwaukee, performed poorly on field sobriety tests and was taken into custody before being booked and later released, Wcpo reported.
In a social-media post, Romo said he has been dealing with a “dependence on pain medication” from his NFL career and an “over-reliance on alcohol” while attempting to get off those medications. He wrote that he is focusing on his health and family and asked for privacy during this period.
CBS Sports has placed Romo on an indefinite leave of absence, Kbur reported. CBS Sports president David Berson told Wcpo there is no timeline for a decision about Romo’s future with the network.
The legal resolution leaves several clear, near-term consequences in place: the financial penalty, mandated treatment steps and a half-year license suspension. The ignition interlock requirement will directly affect Romo’s ability to drive without submitting to vehicle-level testing, and the dismissed civil citations narrow the case to the single OWI plea resolved in court.
Romo’s entry of a no contest plea avoids a criminal conviction on the OWI count while producing the court-ordered sanctions outlined above. The network’s decision to place him on indefinite leave came after the arrest and before the plea disposition, and CBS has not announced further personnel moves or a timeline for any final determinations.
This development marks an abrupt break in Romo’s public schedule as he addresses the legal penalties and the health concerns he described publicly. WOS will monitor any statement from CBS Sports and further court filings for updates on the case and Romo’s employment status.
