Gallardo, Brewers Pitcher Kept From Speaking Spanish To Local Milwaukee Telemundo 63 News

Yovani Gallardo

During a press conference, Gallardo was restricted from speaking Spanish to Telemundo 63 news crew about his arrest for OWI and apology.

By H. Nelson Goodson

April 18, 2013
Updated

Milwaukee, WI - On Thursday, Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) learned that during Wednesday's Milwaukee Brewers news conference with starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo focused on his recent arrest and OWI citation, he was prevented by management (public relations) from speaking Spanish to a local Telemundo 63 news team. The Telemundo news team had tried to interview and get a statement from Gallardo about his OWI incident and apology in Spanish, but were denied access to an interview and Gallardo walked away. 

After the news conference, he took no questions. The Milwaukee Brewers public relations spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
When contacted on Friday by e-mail, HNNUSA extended the courtesy for the Milwaukee Brewers Club executives and Tyler Barnes, Vice President of Communications to provide a statement in regards to not allowing Gallardo speak Spanish during Wednesday's press conference, but none was provided by the Brewers Club. Telemundo TV 63 is an affiliate of CBS-58 in Milwaukee.

Gallardo is originally from Michoacan and speaks Spanish. He was arrested and cited for operating a vehicle while intoxicated after he was stopped by a deputy from the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) around 2:10 a.m. on Tuesday at westbound I-94 near 76th Street.

Gallardo's intoximeter alochol level tested .22, almost triple the legal limit of .08. He was swerving along I-94 from lane to lane and varied in speeds from 40 to 70 MPH, according to MCSO. He was cited for a first offense OWI and is facing a fine up to $600 and a second citation was also issued for lane deviation, with a fine of $178.

He admitted to a sheriff deputy that he had been drinking at Leff's Town in Wauwatosa with friends.

Gallardo on Wednesday during the press conference stated, "Obviously, last night I made a bad decision. You know, I made a mistake. I'm sure I've lost a lot of respect from a lot of fans, but I just want to apologize. I apologize to the fans, to my teammates, my family. You know, like I said, it's just a bad call. It's something I shouldn't have done. I regret it. But at this point, you know, there's nothing I can do about it now. You know, it happened.

"Like I said, I just want to apologize to the whole organization and all the people in Milwaukee for my actions. It's not very easy. It's one of those things, I truly am sorry. I'm going to make sure something like this never happens again. Whatever circumstances, consequences, whatever I have to do so this won't happen again, I'm going to do it."

Gallardo is expected to pay the fines.