Dejan Kovacevic reports. Coonelly was arrested December 22 in Ross. His blood-alcohol was "at least .16."
"My actions that evening were irresponsible and wrong," Coonelly said in a statement. He arrived this morning in Bradenton, Fla., to join the Pirates at their spring training complex.
"I take full and sole responsibility for them. There is no excuse for ever driving under the influence of alcohol."
Coonelly will be arraigned March 20.
Bob Nutting is apparently standing behind him.
Coonelly already wasn't a particularly popular guy in Pittsburgh, and a lot of Pirates fans, and the national media are going to have a field day with this. Not that you can really blame them. This shows really poor judgment. If you go to Pirate City in March ... a lot of players in the Pirates organization are extremely young, 18 or 19 years old. Coonelly has to be a role model. This is also more embarrassment for an organization that really, really doesn't need it. And DUI isn't a victimless crime.