Details of newly hired Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa's DUI arrest have emerged, and it doesn't bode well for the Hall of Famer.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, La Russa, who was described by police as argumentative during his field sobriety test, seemingly tried to use his status as an accomplished manager to get out of the arrest.
"Do you see my ring?" La Russa reportedly said to the arresting officer. "I'm a Hall of Famer baseball person. I'm legit. I'm a Hall of Famer, brother."
Celebrities have a long history of using their status to try and get out of sticky situations, and La Russa was appropriately slammed online for what looks like an attemp to use that tactic. Some even called on the White Sox to let him go altogether.
According to court records obtained by ESPN, the incident that took place in February near the Phoenix area. La Russa was driving his SUV when it ran onto the curb, leaving the vehicle smoking on the side of the road. At the time of the incident, police claimed to have smelled a "light odor of alcoholic beverage." When asked about the odor, La Russa said that he was at a dinner with his friends from the Los Angeles Angels.
He also reportedly refused to submit to a breathalyzer test, provide a sample of his blood or urine to test his blood-alcohol level. Documents show that Maricopa County Justice Courts filed the case on Oct. 28 which is just one day before the White Sox hired him as its manager. A White Sox spokesman said the organization was aware of the incident at the time he was offered the job.
"Because this is an active case, we cannot comment further at this time." the spokesperson told ESPN. When asked to comment on the situation on Monday night, La Russa replied, "I have nothing to say," before hanging up the phone.
This is not the first time the 76-year-old has been slapped with a DUI. While managing the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007, La Russa was arrested near the team's training facility in Jupiter, Florida. La Russa was asleep at a traffic light and at the time of his arrest, his blood alcohol content was well above the legal limit. At the time, he assured the public that this would "never occur again."
