Tony La Russa was arrested for driving while under the influence earlier this year, and some new details from the incident have emerged.
La Russa was charged with DUI in Arizona on Oct. 28, which was the day before the Chicago White Sox hired him. The incident took place on Feb. 24 near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. An officer responded to a call after La Russa ran his SUV into a curb and had a tire blow out. According to the arrest report, which was obtained by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, La Russa tried to talk his way out of trouble by informing the officer of who he was.
“Do you see my ring?” La Russa allegedly asked the officer. “I’m a Hall of Famer baseball person. I’m legit. I’m a Hall of Famer, brother. You’re trying to embarrass me.”
La Russa has won three World Series as a manager, so the ring he referred to was likely one of his championship rings.
La Russa told the officer he had one glass of wine at a dinner with some friends. He was taken into custody following a field sobriety test and refused to submit to a breath test or provide a blood or urine sample. An officer obtained a search warrant for a blood test, and La Russa had a blood-alcohol content of above 0.08, which is the legal limit in Arizona.
The DUI arrest was not La Russa’s first. The Hall of Famer was also arrested for DUI back in 2007, and an embarrassing video showed him struggling with the alphabet during that incident.
The White Sox say they were aware of the February DUI and misdemeanor charge before they hired La Russa. One top free agent ripped La Russa on Twitter Tuesday and cited the arrest as a reason he would not want to play for the manager.
