It’s been eight days since CBS placed analyst Tony Romo on leave, eight days after his OWI arrest in Milwaukee. In just a few days, CBS Sports president David Berson will be peppered with questions about Romo’s status.
As noted by John Ourand of Puck, CBS will conduct its annual NFL preview press conference this week. And Romo’s status will hover over the event.
Ourand notes that the consensus among the sports media executives with whom he has spoken is that Romo won’t be back. If that’s the case, the remaining four years of his contract — at a total payout of $72 million — will have to be addressed, through full-blown litigation/arbitration or a settlement.
Regardless, it’s hard to imagine Romo returning. Ourand predicts the questions that will become relevant if/when Romo is back in the network’s top NFL booth: “Will viewers wonder if Romo is tipsy the next time he acts goofy in the booth or has a weird conversation with Jim Nantz? Will social media users create memes with the arrest video?”
The arrest is one thing. The videos generated by the deputy’s bodycam are another. Those inclined to criticize Romo will bolster their observations with clips and/or screenshots from the field sobriety test or the initial traffic stop.
Most embarrassing incidents inevitably fade into oblivion, fueled by the non-stop news cycle and our collective goldfish brains that constantly forget one thing and move on to the next. The Romo stuff likely will linger, with something about it dusted off every time he works a game for CBS, or for anyone else.
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