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Steelers Ward arrested for DUI in Georgia
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Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward arrested Saturday in Georgia on drunk driving charges.
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In the wake of Hines Ward's Saturday arrest in Georgia on a drunk driving charge, his manager issued a statement saying that the Steelers wide receiver wasn't impaired and apologizing to fans.
The DeKalb County sheriff's office said the former Super Bowl MVP and "Dancing With the Stars" champ was arrested early Saturday by an officer with the DeKalb County Police Department's DUI task force. Ward was booked into the DeKalb County jail in suburban Atlanta at 3:41 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence. He was released on $1,000 bond, according to DeKalb officials.
The sheriff's office said it had turned over paperwork to the courts and couldn't release any further information about the player's arrest.
DeKalb County police said they stopped Ward at about 2:30 a.m. after they saw his Aston Martin weave and hit a curb, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which also reported that police said he failed a field sobriety test, refused a breathalyzer and said he had been at a club where he had two drinks.
Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said the Steelers and the Rooney family were aware of Ward's arrest but would not comment further. NFL representatives could not be reached for comment Saturday evening.
Ward's agent, Andrew Ree, released this statement:
"On July 9th Hines Ward was stopped by Dekalb Co. police for suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence. He cooperated fully with the police and truthfully answered all of their questions. We are currently in the process of ascertaining all the facts. From our preliminary investigation we can tell you that we are confident that the facts will show that Hines was NOT impaired by alcohol while driving. However, Hines is deeply saddened by this incident and apologizes to his fans and the Steelers organization for this distraction."
Ward, 35, played football at the University of Georgia and owns a home in the Atlanta area.
Ward has not commented on the arrest or posted to his Facebook or Twitter accounts since being released, but previously he had been tweeting about the risks of texting while driving and his efforts to stop.
He wrote: "How many of you guys and gals text while driving? I am bad at doing that. It's very unsafe." Friday after others tweeted responses he wrote, "Thanks for the posts. I'm glad to see I'm not alone with my addiction. Today driving home from workouts, my phone was off and I singing songs all the way home. Haha and it felt good to not hear that phone make any noise. Really going to work on it."
In May, Ward had another encounter with police when he was handcuffed and briefly detained by Los Angeles officers after a mix-up over a stolen car.
Ward, who was in Los Angeles for "Dancing With the Stars," was in a car driven by a female companion after leaving a North Hollywood restaurant when police pulled them over at 1:30 a.m. May 5.
His unidentified companion had reported the car missing earlier in the night but had since recovered it and forgotten to alert police, Los Angeles Police public information officer Norma Eisenman said.
Police cuffed Ward -- standard procedure in stolen car stops, Officer Eisenman said -- but he and his companion were allowed to go on their way once the mix-up was clarified.
First Published July 10, 2011 12:00 am
