Ward was arrested and booked into the DeKalb County jail early Saturday morning, charged with driving under the influence, and released on $1,000 bond. Not a lot more details, but Ward's lawyer and agent insists that he wasn't impaired by alcohol while driving. Here's the official statement from his reps:
"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."This definitely isn't the kind of behavior you'd expect from a guy like Hines Ward, an extremely popular player who is known for his philanthropy and just generally being a really cool guy off the field. He's even on the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
It just goes to show, no one is really immune to making poor decisions. More here: Hines Ward wasn't impaired, manager says in wake of DUI arrest.