Ty Lawson DUI: NBA Star Arrested After Failing Field Sobriety Test
NBA star Ty Lawson was reportedly arrested early Tuesday morning for driving under the influence (DUI).
TMZ reports that the California Highway Patrol initially pulled over the 27-year-old point guard for speeding on the freeway.
According to the report, Lawson showed enough signs of intoxication to warrant a field sobriety test — which he apparently failed.
Lawson was arrested and held in custody around 2:30 a.m. At the time of the report, the Denver Nuggets star was still in jail with a $5,000 bond.
Ty Lawson — Arrested for DUI http://t.co/DUD6KWfZkV
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) July 14, 2015
This is not the first time that Ty Lawson was pulled over for speeding and later arrested for driving under the influence this year. Back in January, Lawson was pulled over by Denver Police after being clocked driving 60 mph in a 35-mph zone.
Report: Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson arrested for DUI: http://t.co/LkP1bXn3vx pic.twitter.com/EkczEFW7I7 — FootBasket.com (@FootBasket) January 23, 2015
According to Sports Illustrated, Lawson made it clear to the police officer that “he had consumed alcohol prior to driving.”
Ty performed “unsatisfactorily” during that field sobriety test as well and reportedly had “bloodshot/watery” eyes, slurred speech and “a strong odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage” on his breath.
The Denver Nuggets issued an official statement in regards to the January DUI arrest, declining the opportunity to comment further.
“Per team policy and out of respect for the legal process, we will have no further comment at this time.” #Nuggets
— Chris Dempsey (@dempseypost) January 23, 2015
After apologizing to his team, Ty Lawson returned to the basketball court days after his arrest to help the Denver Nuggets play against the Washington Wizards.
Brian Shaw, the Denver Nuggets’ head coach, opened up to the Denver Post about the conversation that he had with Ty Lawson — claiming that he “left him to deal with his teammates on his own, with them.”
Shaw compared it to the same care and concern that a parent has for their child, “just wanting to talk about responsibility, doing the right thing, learning from mistakes that you make” and how it affects others.
Lawson admitted that he was disappointed for how his actions affected his teammates.
“Everything that my teammates have been through, the questions, distractions and things like that is the hardest thing.”
During the same interview, Ty Lawson also claimed that he would apologize to the fans and kids that looked up to him, too, but he could not comment “on the specifics” at that time due to the legal side of the situation.
[Image Credit: Mike Windle / Getty Images]