Police arrested Tony Romo for operating a vehicle while under the influence in Milwaukee almost three weeks ago. Since then, there has been much speculation about how the arrest will affect the CBS NFL analyst’s job going forward.
On Tuesday at the network’s annual talent press conference, CBS Sports President and CEO David Berson gave an update on Tony Romo’s potential return to the airwaves… sort of.
“I know there’s one topic that’s been in the news a lot lately,” he said. “I know it’s on people’s minds here, so I’m gonna hit that right out of the gate, and that has to do with Tony Romo being on leave until further notice. I hope you can respect and appreciate that this is a personal matter and a legal one for Tony, so I can’t speak to that aspect of things. What I can say is it’s an evolving situation, and therefore we’re still assessing.
“There’s no timetable or final decision at this time. Since it continues to evolve and we’re on the eve of the season, I felt it’s very important that our team, the many, many hundreds of people who work on the NFL on CBS, have certainty and direction so we can definitively plan and focus on the production and marketing as we kick off the season.
“In making this decision, we had to consider the impact on our image and on our brand. That’s very important to us. Whether the games, marketing, PR, social, the focus should be, and needs to be on our presentation and this great product, and not on any other factors.”
CBS elevated J.J. Watt to Tony Romo’s role in his absence
“Fortunately, we have a very deep bench, and I’m really proud of the way everyone’s stepping up and responding,” Berson continued. “As you know, J.J. [Watt] will join Jim [Nantz] and Tracy [Wolfson] as our lead team in Tony’s absence. They’re already knee-deep in planning, and I have every confidence they’ll be great.
“Beyond that, there’s not, there’s not much more I could say on this topic. Again, I hope you can appreciate and respect that. It’s not an easy pivot from that to move on, but I’m going to do that right now and focus fully on the NFL and CBS in our upcoming season.”
While CBS placed Tony Romo on leave “until further notice” on July 31, it is notable that an Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) charge in Wisconsin is considered to be a traffic violation, not a criminal charge. It is also notable that he is reportedly still owed $72 million over the next four years.
The Athletic reported that Romo’s contract includes an industry-standard morals clause. CBS has yet to answer two questions: whether his OWI violated it and whether the network will enforce it.