NEWSLETTER
New White Sox manager Tony La Russa was charged with his second DUI just one day before he was officially hired, but it appears nothing will come of that charge.
According to ABC 12 in Arizona, “The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has since moved to drop the charges against La Russa. Officials did not give a reason for dropping the charges.”
So if we have the timeline understood correctly, it was La Russa getting arrested way back in February, things staying completely quiet and off the radar for months, La Russa getting charged in late October (again, staying totally quiet), La Russa getting hired by the White Sox, word leaking about the charge, shit hitting the fan publicly in November, and then the charge gets dropped after the White Sox dig in their heels and refuse to change course or discipline La Russa.
Reading that timeline, it’s it’s easy (and may prove correct) to be deeply cynical. After all, it was La Russa who reportedly tried to big-time his way out of the arrest in the first place – “Do you see my ring?” La Russa said to the arresting officer. “I’m a Hall of Famer baseball person. I’m legit. I’m a Hall of Famer, brother.” – and he’s got a powerful employer strongly incentivized to make this go away. We may never know precisely what went on behind the scenes, and I do of course leave open the possibility that this was all just normal process and justice was served. But I’ll forgive any of you who remain cynical, given all the circumstances.
All that said, it’s also possible this is merely procedural:
A source tells me this may be just a case of initially filing the case in the wrong jurisdiction. If that's the case, it would be re-filed. Stay tuned. https://t.co/S1VJpzJHGe
— Jay Zawaski (@JayZawaski670) November 16, 2020
More details when they come.
UPDATE: Another report suggests it is indeed merely procedural (which is why you don’t go full 100% cynical right away):
Just asked the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office if Tony La Russa’s DUI charge is being dropped.
They said the dismissal is a formality because it was filed in the wrong court. The MCAO will be refilling the charges in a different justice court @WGNNews
— Rick Tarsitano (@RickTarsitano) November 16, 2020
