UK says attorneys’ mistake led to arrest warrant for football star Chris Rodriguez
A warrant was issued for University of Kentucky football player Chris Rodriguez after he failed to appear in court Friday afternoon.
Judge Denotra Gunter issued a warrant for Rodriguez’s arrest and imposed a $200 fine. Rodriguez, the team’s returning starter at running back, faces three charges — operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, careless driving and no tail lamps — stemming from an arrest early Sunday morning. His arraignment was scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday.
UK’s athletics department released a statement Friday evening indicating that Rodriguez’s attorneys were at fault for his non-appearance.
“We have confirmed with Chris’ attorneys that this was a scheduling mistake in their office,” UK spokesperson Susan Lax said. “Chris was specifically advised by his attorneys not to attend because they would attend on his behalf. They are diligently working to get it corrected.”
According to a citation, Rodriguez’s speech was slurred and there was “an odor of alcoholic beverages coming from within the vehicle” after he was pulled over at a gas station off Nicholasville Road. Rodriguez agreed to a horizontal gaze test but refused to perform other field tests while outside of the vehicle, according to the citation. He displayed “the involuntary jerking of the eyes indicating alcohol consumption” during the gaze test, according to the citation.
The officer wrote that Rodriguez, 21, admitted to having consumed “one or two shots of alcohol” at Belle’s Cocktail House, a bar located downtown near the intersection of Church and Market streets. He was transported to the Fayette County Detention Center, where he refused an evidential breath test.
It was Rodriguez’s second driving-related incident in less than a year. The senior last July was charged with improper start from a parked position, according to Fayette County court records. He paid a $163 fine that resulted from that event.
Rodriguez was the football team’s leading rusher each of the last two seasons. In 11 games last year he finished with 1,238 yards and eight rushing touchdowns, and is the leading returning rusher in the Southeastern Conference for the 2022 season.
A member of UK’s running back room since 2018, Rodriguez was a three-star recruit in the 2018 signing class. He has 2,740 career rushing yards, sixth all time in school history.
This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 4:07 PM.
