Retired World Series-winning outfielder Johnny Damon is facing charges of driving under the influence and spent a night in jail after he and his wife were stopped early Friday morning by police in an upscale Orlando suburb.
Officers in Windermere, Florida, pulled over the vehicle with the couple inside about 1:30 a.m. after spotting the SUV swerving, according to a police report, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
PEOPLE has not independently obtained that report.
Police allege Damon, 47 — who played 18 seasons of Major League Baseball, twice winning the World Series as a member of both the 2004 Boston Red Sox and the 2009 New York Yankees — was slurring his speech, smelled of alcohol and unsteady on his feet when stopped.
He answered "just a little bit" when asked if he'd been consuming alcohol, indicating a small pinching motion with his left hand and fingers, the police report alleges.
Asked if he'd consent to a field sobriety test, Damon agreed, telling officers multiple times that he'd do so because he is "a big boy," reports WESH.
Two readings on a breathalyzer test recorded Damon's blood-alcohol content as 0.30 and 0.294, the police report notes — both well above the legal limit of less than 0.08.
In addition to the allegation of driving under the influence, Damon also was arrested on a charge of resisting an officer without violence.
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"I'm always accountable for my actions and we'll see what happens soon," he said Friday afternoon as he left the Orange County jail, reports WKMG. "But, I will be honest with you and always be accountable and like I said I would never put myself, my loved ones or anybody in harm's way getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. So, I apologize and hopefully, I can answer more questions later on."
During the encounter with police, Damon's wife Michelle Mangan-Damon allegedly became uncooperative, according to the police report, and at one point allegedly pushed an officer. She was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence.
Both initially were booked into the Orange County jail and each had been released by midday Friday, online jail records show. An attorney for the couple was not immediately identified.
During his career, Damon, a two-time All-Star, played for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians, in addition to his memorable runs with the Red Sox — whose worshipful fans, grateful that their team had finally broken a perceived World Series curse, vilified him after he signed with the rival Yankees — and the New York team. He was last on a major-league roster in 2012.
Off the field, Damon was a contestant on a 2015 season of The Celebrity Apprentice and a 2018 edition of Dancing With the Stars.
He is a native of the Orlando area, where he played high school baseball, and lives with his wife in Windermere.
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