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NEED TO KNOW
- CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz spoke out about his booth partner Tony Romo’s arrest for OWI as the network continues to assess Romo’s status
- Nantz said he was “just laying low” after Romo’s arrest on July 23
- “He’s a great friend, continues to be, always will be,” Nantz said of Romo, who was put on leave “until further notice” on July 31
Tony Romo’s booth partner Jim Nantz has broken his silence on the CBS analyst’s OWI arrest.
As the NFL preseason begins and Romo’s status at CBS Sports remains in limbo, Nantz, 67, told Awful Announcing on Wednesday, Aug. 12 he was not a part of the discussions with the network and said the former Cowboys quarterback is a “great friend.”
“But, you know, I made my mind up because we have this late flurry of golf events on the schedule. I was going to communicate with Tony, which we have, back-and-forth...I just kind of wanted to focus on what’s in front of me, and that’s what I’ve done,” Nantz told the outlet.
“No, I really was just laying low,” Nantz said when asked if he was kept “in the loop” by CBS after Romo’s arrest. Nantz added he “had golf events to do” and was aware that the network had “a lot to sort out” with the situation.
Credit: Mary Kouw/CBS via Getty
Nantz went on to call Romo “a great friend of mine” and said he “has been for years.”
“He and I go back to 2011 when he got married, I was invited to his wedding. So, this was not someone in 2017 when he entered the booth I was just getting to know for the first time. So he’s a great friend, continues to be, always will be,” Nantz said before praising Romo’s family, which includes his wife Candice Crawford and their three children, Hawkins, Rivers and Jones.
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“I adore his family, his wife is awesome,” Nantz said. “They’re the ones that are on my mind right now. The contents of what we talked about, I’m just going to leave that private, and I think that’s the only way and the appropriate way for me to look at it.”
Romo was put on leave “until further notice” by CBS on July 31.
JJ Watt will replace Romo as Nantz’s partner as CBS continues to determine the former Cowboy’s future at the network. On Tuesday, Aug. 11, CBS Sports president David Berson said, “It’s an evolving situation, and therefore we’re still assessing,” per The New York Times. “There’s no timetable or final decision at this time. I hope you can respect and appreciate this is a personal matter and a legal one.”
Romo, 46, was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) in Milwaukee on July 23. Authorities noted he performed poorly on standard field sobriety tests and bodycam footage from the scene indicated that he refused a breathalyzer test.
Read the original article on People