Tony Romo recently pleaded no contest and accepted responsibility for his OWI arrest, but Ryan Leaf had one issue with his statement.<\/p>\n
After pleading no contest<\/a> to a civil offense of operating while intoxicated in Wisconsin, Romo put out a statement admitting his \u201cover-reliance on alcohol\u201d<\/a> while taking full responsibility for his actions before teasing his return to CBS, a return the network has not commented on<\/a> as their lead NFL analyst remains on indefinite leave. But Romo also attributed his \u201cover-reliance on alcohol\u201d to his attempt at getting off a dependence on paid medication used to combat \u201cdebilitating pain\u201d following multiple back surgeries during his NFL career.<\/p>\n Ryan Leaf, a former NFL quarterback who has been very open about being a recovering addict after a decade-long battle with an opiate addiction, joined The Dan Patrick Show Wednesday morning where he wished Romo wouldn\u2019t have referenced back pain in his statement.<\/p>\n \ufeff<\/p>\n \u201cI used to think football was the problem. No, it\u2019s a me problem. Football was never the problem; football gave me everything. I had to figure it out,\u201d Leaf told Patrick. \u201cIt\u2019s why, with the Tony Romo statement we just saw, I thought it was a very good statement; I didn\u2019t need the part about having \u2018debilitating back pain.\u2019 Take that whole paragraph out. You don\u2019t need any of that. You chose to do this, and it\u2019s cost you this, and you\u2019re going to admit to it, and you\u2019re going to find a way to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was reading it with my wife yesterday,\u201d Leaf continued of Romo\u2019s statement. \u201cAnd I was just like, \u2018Oh no.\u2019 You don\u2019t have to say that part. Everybody\u2019s had surgeries. Everybody\u2019s going through debilitating pain. I played on a golf tour with him; he was always out there on a golf tour playing. If you\u2019re in such pain, why are you out there playing golf all the time? That\u2019s not helping things.\u201d<\/p>\n Romo was allegedly driving to his parents\u2019 house from the Wisconsin Amateur Championship golf tournament when he was stopped on suspicion of OWI last month. The former NFL quarterback has long been associated with his love of golf, with some even questioning whether it was infringing on his preparation as a lead analyst<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the statement meant to take responsibility for his actions, Romo claimed he was providing background on his debilitating back pain from his time in the NFL, not an excuse. But even with that background, some still questioned whether he was using it to deflect blame.<\/p>\n \t