Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa agrees to plea deal, will serve one day house arrest
Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa formally had his charges reduced to reckless driving, down from driving under the influence, his lawyer said Monday.
“Mr. La Russa knows he made a mistake last February and deeply regrets it,” La Russa's counsel, Larry Kazan, said in a statement obtained by The Athletic. “He is embarrassed and concerned. He knows what he did was wrong.”
As punishment, La Russa will serve a one-day sentence from home. He also will be required to complete 20 hours of community service and pay a $1,383 fine. Kazan said La Russa completed alcohol counseling at Scottsdale Treatment in Arizona.
“I know I don't have a drinking problem, just like I know I made a serious mistake in February,” La Russa told reporters in a conference call, “and where I am right now is to prove that I don't have a drinking problem and to prove it every day off the field that I'm going to handle it and what's painfully clear to me is if I have a drink I will not drive. There's always an alternative.”
La Russa was pulled over on Feb. 24 and failed a field sobriety test, while allegedly attempting to use his Hall of Fame status to skirt the consequences. He was charged with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The White Sox had remained quiet since hiring La Russa as manager on Oct. 28, one day after charges for the case were filed in Arizona's Maricopa County, but Monday, the team said it was "standing by him."
"The White Sox understand the anger and concern expressed by some about hiring Tony under these circumstances," the team said in a statement. "Tony has expressed to us his remorse, and he understands he brought this on himself.
"Tony is fortunate his decisions that night did not injure himself or anyone else. We also believe people deserve the opportunity, at all points in their lives, to improve. Tony knows there is no safety net below him. There cannot be a third strike."
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