TONY ROMO PLACED ON CBS LEAVE AFTER OWI ARREST IN WISCONSIN

CBS Sports placed Tony Romo on indefinite leave from his role as lead NFL analyst on Friday, following his arrest on suspicion of operating while intoxicated in Wisconsin. Romo was arrested on 23 July after being stopped whilst driving south on Interstate 43 in Milwaukee County. According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office report, he performed poorly on field sobriety tests and was taken into custody, booked and released. An open bottle of alcoholic beverage was found in the passenger's side of his black Jeep during an inventory before it was towed. Body camera footage released earlier in the week showed Romo telling deputies he had been at a golf course and was on his way "to visit grandma and grandpa" when stopped.

Police said they stopped Romo after observing him passing cars in a gore area, which separates interstate traffic from cars entering from an on-ramp. A deputy reported suspecting Romo of being impaired due to "red glassy eyes" and an "odour of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage". Romo performed poorly when given a field-sobriety test, per reports. He is due back in court on 21 September. A first offence charge of OWI in Wisconsin carries a fine and temporary driver's licence suspension; depending on blood-alcohol level, a person may also face a year in a sobriety programme.

JJ Watt, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, will replace Romo on broadcasts, teaming with Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on CBS Sports' lead NFL team. Watt joined CBS in 2023 and had previously served on the network's number two crew with Ian Eagle. Romo has been the lead game analyst for CBS' NFL coverage since 2017, following a 13-year NFL career spent entirely with the Dallas Cowboys. It remains unclear when, or if, Romo will return to the broadcast booth.