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Tony Romo pleads no contest to OWI charge, apologizes and loses driving privileges for six months
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and CBS NFL analyst Tony Romo pleaded no contest to operating while intoxicated after a July traffic stop in Wisconsin. He was fined $834, lost his driving privileges for six months, and must complete an alcohol assessment and install an interlock device. Romo apologized on Instagram, attributing his actions to pain from multiple back surgeries and a resulting dependence on pain medication and alcohol.
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Romo pleads no contest in Wisconsin OWI case
Tony Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and lead NFL analyst for CBS, has pleaded no contest to a charge of operating while intoxicated, according to court records and a statement he issued on Instagram. The plea stems from an arrest on July 23 following a traffic stop on Interstate 43 in Wisconsin, where Romo was driving southbound.
As part of the resolution, Milwaukee County court records show Romo lost his driving privileges for six months and was ordered to complete an alcohol assessment program. He also owes $834, and an interlock device must be installed on any vehicle he owns or operates, with the requirement remaining in effect for at least one year after he is issued a license.
Romo initially received citations for possessing open intoxicants in a motor vehicle, unsafe passing on the right, and refusal to take a test for intoxication after arrest. Those citations have all been dismissed.
Romo's public apology
In a statement posted to Instagram, Romo addressed the arrest and the weeks since. "The past month has been difficult, but it has also been personally significant," he wrote. "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 attributed his actions to the toll of multiple back surgeries that ended his playing career. "Multiple back surgeries ended my career earlier than I expected and left me with constant, debilitating pain," he said. That pain, he explained, "led to a dependence on pain medication, and my efforts to get off those medications led to an over-reliance on alcohol."
"None of this is an excuse," Romo stated. "These are my failures and I take responsibility for them." He said he is working with a team of doctors to address his health and make necessary changes, and 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 during this period," he added.
Details from the arrest
Citations released by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office indicated that Romo performed poorly on field sobriety tests during the stop. An open bottle of an alcoholic beverage was found in the passenger's side of his black Jeep during an inventory before the vehicle was towed. 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." A deputy told Romo he suspected him of being impaired because of "red, glassy eyes" and an "odor of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage."
One report, citing body camera footage and deputies' observations, stated that Romo initially refused a breath test but that a subsequent test showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent, nearly twice Wisconsin's legal limit of 0.08. That account, which has not appeared in the court record or in other coverage reviewed, also described Romo being booked, released, and told to appear in court on September 21.
Romo's standing with CBS
CBS has placed Romo on leave from his role as lead NFL analyst. 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 to 2016, all with the Dallas Cowboys. He remains the Cowboys' franchise leader in career touchdown passes with 248, and he held the franchise record for career passing yards (34,183) until Dak Prescott surpassed him last season.
In Romo's absence, analyst JJ Watt will join play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on CBS Sports' lead NFL team. Their first game together will be on September 13, when the Minnesota Vikings host the Green Bay Packers.
How each outlet told it
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Framing: The headline focuses on Romo's guilty plea and the legal charge itself.
Facts Included:
Tony Romo pleaded no contest to a charge of operating while intoxicated
Romo was arrested July 23 following a traffic stop on Interstate 43 in Wisconsin
CBS placed him on leave from his role as lead NFL analyst
Romo lost his driving privileges for six months and was ordered to complete an alcohol assessment program
Romo owes $834
An interlock device must be installed on any vehicle owned or operated by Romo for at least one year after he is issued a license
Romo said in a statement on Instagram, 'The past month has been difficult, but it has also been personally significant'
Romo said, '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 '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 said, 'None of this is an excuse'
Romo said, '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 necessary changes
He thanked his family, friends and the NFL community for their support
Romo said, '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 initially received citations for possessing open intoxicants, unsafe passing on the right and refusal to take a test for intoxication after arrest
Those citations have all been dismissed
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' NFL coverage since 2017
Romo made 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
Their first game will be on Sept 13, when the Minnesota Vikings host the Green Bay Packers
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 black Jeep during an inventory before it was towed
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'
Romo went to high school about 35 miles southwest of Milwaukee in Burlington, Wisconsin
Romo remains the Cowboys' franchise leader in career touchdown passes with 248
He held the franchise record for career passing yards (34,183) until Dak Prescott overtook him last season
Framing: The headline emphasizes the high BAC nearly twice the legal limit and Romo's plea, while also linking it to uncertainty at CBS
Facts Included:
Tony Romo pleaded no contest to operating while intoxicated after being stopped in Wisconsin in July
He initially refused a breath test but a subsequent test showed a blood-alcohol level almost twice the legal limit
He was pulled over on July 23 in Milwaukee County, reportedly heading home to see his grandparents
Deputies noted he had "red glassy eyes" and smelled of alcohol, and body camera footage backed up their account
They found an open bottle on the passenger side of his Jeep
He was hit with four citations: operating while intoxicated, an open container, an unsafe pass, and initially refusing a sobriety test
He was booked, released, and told to appear in court on September 21
He'll pay an $834 fine, serve a six-month license suspension, complete an alcohol assessment, and have an ignition interlock device installed for at least one year
CBS pulled him from the air last month, saying only that he's "on leave from his role at CBS Sports until further notice"
CBS Sports has tapped JJ Watt to step in alongside Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson on the top broadcast team
Romo signed on as CBS's top analyst back in 2017 and is reportedly pulling in around $18 million a year
CBS Sports president David Berson said last month there's no set timeline for deciding what happens next
Romo posted a statement to Instagram confirming he had pleaded no contest to the OWI charge
He wrote "The past month has been difficult, but it has also been personally significant"
He said "Multiple back surgeries ended my career earlier than I expected and left me with constant, debilitating pain"
He said "That pain led to a dependence on pain medication, and my efforts to get off those medications led to an over-reliance on alcohol"
He said "None of this is an excuse" and "These are my failures, and I take responsibility for them"
He said he plans to return to CBS "in time"
CBS placed him on leave on July 31, just eight days after the arrest
John Ourand of Puck reports the network declined to comment on Romo's statement
Ourand writes that it still appears "exceedingly unlikely" Romo will return to CBS
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimTony Romo pleaded no contest to a charge of operating while intoxicated.
ClaimAccording to Milwaukee County court records, Tony Romo lost his driving privileges for six months and was ordered to complete an alcohol assessment program.
ClaimAn interlock device must be installed on any vehicle owned or operated by Tony Romo, and that order will remain in effect for at least one year after he is issued a license.
ClaimTony Romo initially received citations for possessing open intoxicants, unsafe passing on the right, and refusal to take a test for intoxication after arrest; all of those citations have been dismissed.
ClaimTony Romo, 46, has been the lead game analyst for CBS' 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.
ClaimAnalyst 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.
ClaimBody camera footage showed Tony 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.