ANAHEIM, CA – JULY 11: Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
New Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa tried to talk his way out of a DUI arrest.
The Chicago White Sox are dealing with a bit of a public relations nightmare surrounding new manager Tony La Russa. The decision to hire him was already controversial, and then came the news of a DUI charge from a February incident in Arizona.
Details continue to come out regarding the incident and the latest has to do with La Russa trying to talk his way out of the arrest by bragging about his baseball accomplishments. ESPN’s Jeff Passan included the tidbit in a story.
A bad look for La Russa
“I’m a hall of famer, brother,” is quite the quote while being placed in an officer’s car. This is just another embarrassing aspect of an already embarrassing situation.
It may be a bit harsh to say La Russa needs to be fired for a DUI arrest, which is his second. However, the White Sox reportedly knew about this incident and still hired him when there were plenty of other qualified candidates available.
How will this incident look if La Russa is trying to be tough on players for simply having fun on the field? The White Sox are looking to take that next step toward being a contender and starting a new era with such distractions is a bit odd.
The White Sox are sticking by the veteran manager and it is entirely possible this story fades before the start of next season. To be fair, this incident happened all the way back in February. The processing was just delayed because of COVID.
“Do you see my ring?” is something that may work in some scenarios. When it comes to being arrested for a DUI, it is only sad.