White Sox Say They Understand Seriousness of Charges After Tony La Russa's DUI

The Chicago White Sox released a statement Thursday regarding the driving under the influence charge manager Tony La Russa is facing. 

Per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, the statement read:

"As Tony La Russa's attorney said in his statement, Tony deserves all the assumptions and protections granted to everyone in a court of law, especially while this is a pending matter. Once his case reaches resolution in the courts, we will have more to say. The White Sox understand the seriousness of these charges."

ESPN's Jeff Passan, Paula Lavigne and Charlie Moynihan obtained court records this week showing that La Russa was charged with DUI after he allegedly hit a curb with his car in Phoenix in February.

The White Sox announced the hiring of the 76-year-old La Russa as their new manager two weeks ago.

Per Passan, Lavigne and Moynihan, a police affidavit stated that La Russa told police on Feb. 24 that he had just departed a dinner with friends from the Los Angeles Angels, who he was working for as a special advisor.

La Russa was described as  "argumentative" and refused to take a breath test or submit a sample of his blood. After the police obtained a search warrant, they took his blood and noted that the blood-alcohol content came back as .093 percent, which is above the legal limit of .08 percent.

It marked La Russa's second DUI arrest, as he was previously arrested for DUI in 2007 while he was managing the St. Louis Cardinals.

When news of La Russa's February DUI arrest first became public, the White Sox said they were aware of the charge before hiring him.

La Russa has not managed since retiring after leading the Cardinals to a World Series title in 2011, which is what made his hiring in Chicago so surprising.

He previously managed the White Sox, Oakland Athletics and Cardinals, winning three World Series in that role. Since retiring from managing, La Russa has served as an executive and advisor for multiple teams including the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox and Angels.

La Russa will take over a White Sox team that went 35-25 last season. Chicago finished one game behind the Minnesota Twins for the American League Central title and reached the playoffs.

After the White Sox were eliminated by the Athletics in the AL Wild Card Series, Chicago fired manager Rick Renteria.