Tony Romo Says He Accepts Full Responsibility for OWI Arrest, Angles for CBS Return

Tony Romo has broken his silence on the drunk-driving arrest that got him yanked off CBS's lead NFL broadcast team. Sort of. He did it through a spokesperson, not in his own voice.

"Tony accepts full responsibility for his actions and has taken proactive steps to ensure that this isolated civil matter is properly resolved," the spokesperson said in a statement first reported by TMZ on Thursday, August 27, and confirmed by outlets including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, People and Us Weekly. "We are working with local authorities to bring this matter to a close and we are communicating with CBS about next steps."

That's it. More than a month after his arrest, that's the entirety of what Romo has said about a night that ended with him handcuffed on the side of I-43.

What Actually Happened

A Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office deputy pulled Romo over around 8 p.m. on July 23 for unsafe passing on the high-rise bridge of southbound I-43, according to court records cited by Us Weekly. Romo told the deputy he was coming from a golf event, the Wisconsin Amateur Championship, and heading to his grandparents' house.

The deputy noted Romo's "red, glassy eyes" and the "odor of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage" on his breath, according to the New York Post. Romo initially denied drinking at all before telling officers he'd had one Corona, according to the Guardian.

Bodycam footage, later released in a 31-minute extended cut, shows Romo struggling through field sobriety tests. He told the deputy he didn't understand the instructions: "There's too many," he said, per the Post. When asked to take a breathalyzer, he refused, repeatedly asking for his lawyer instead.

Wisconsin later filed three citations against Romo: first-offense operating while intoxicated, unsafe passing on the right side, and possessing open intoxicants in his vehicle, according to Awful Announcing and confirmed across multiple outlets citing online court records. A few shooters and an open bottle of alcohol were found on the passenger side of his car before it was towed, per the Post and Us Weekly. He's also cited for refusing the intoxication test after arrest.

The Wisconsin Wrinkle

A first-offense OWI in Wisconsin is not a criminal charge. It's treated as a civil citation, carrying a fine typically between $150 and $300, according to WISN and reported by People.

That's the "isolated civil matter" language Romo's spokesperson used. Sports Illustrated commentator Mike Florio, writing for Yahoo Sports, pushed back hard on that framing: "While it may be technically accurate under Wisconsin OWI laws to call a first offense a 'civil matter,' it didn't feel like one, look like one, or sound like one. He was pulled over. He was put through a field sobriety test. He was handcuffed, his mugshot was taken, he was booked."

Florio's point is fair. Legally, Romo's team is using an accurate description of Wisconsin law. Practically, the arrest, the bodycam video, the mugshot and the citations all played out in public exactly like a criminal case would, regardless of how the state statute books classify a first offense. Both things can be true at once: the legal categorization is real, and the public spectacle was real too.

Where CBS Stands

CBS Sports placed Romo on leave "until further notice" on July 31, eight days after the arrest, according to a statement the network gave to Us Weekly. JJ Watt was elevated from CBS's second-tier broadcast crew to fill Romo's seat alongside play-by-play voice Jim Nantz.

Watt posted about the move on X on August 11: "Haven't said much because it's not the circumstances you'd hope it would happen under, but I'm incredibly excited about this opportunity."

CBS Sports president David Berson has not committed to a timeline. "It's an evolving situation, and we are still assessing," Berson said at NFL on CBS media day, according to Us Weekly.

Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, cited by Awful Announcing, has reported that CBS has wanted an exit from Romo's 10-year, $180 million contract signed in 2020, and that a morality clause could give the network that opening. The Guardian's reporting adds context on why: Romo has faced criticism over a "questionable work ethic" and declining on-air performance in recent seasons, even as newer analysts like Watt have risen in popularity.

Romo has a court date scheduled for Monday, September 21, one day after CBS's Week 2 NFL broadcasts, according to People and Us Weekly. His season opener assignment, the Vikings-Packers game in Minnesota on September 13, already went to Watt instead.

Florio's Yahoo Sports column argues the smarter move for Romo would be to address this himself, in a press conference or on-camera interview, rather than through a statement, and to plead guilty to the citations and move on. Whether Romo takes that advice, or whether CBS decides the Watt experiment is working well enough to make Romo's absence permanent, will become clearer after that September 21 court date.