Top left: Tony Rizzos booking photo after his domestic violence arrest in December. Bottom: Rizzo in the Medina Municipal Court this morning, where he pleaded to a lesser charge of persistent disorderly conduct.
  • Top left: Tony Rizzo’s booking photo after his domestic violence arrest in December. Bottom: Rizzo in the Medina Municipal Court this morning, where he pleaded to a lesser charge of persistent disorderly conduct.

Tony Rizzo, the longtime Cleveland sports radio and TV fixture, took off from his spot as host of ESPN Radio’s The Really Big Show this morning to face a judge at the Medina Municipal Court, three and a half months after he was charged with domestic violence following a drunken altercation with his wife in their Medina home.

In December, Rizzo’s wife called 911 from a locked bathroom, reporting to Medina police that her husband was drunk and had been choking and hitting her (click here for Scene’s story on that arrest, including audio of the 911 call).

Rizzo was arrested for domestic violence, a first degree misdemeanor. Today, it was announced prosecutors amended the complaint to a lesser charge: persistent disorderly conduct, a fourth degree misdemeanor. Rizzo pleaded no contest today in court to that charge.

Here’s video of the entirety of his time in front of the judge:

Afterwards, Medina’s assistant law director and prosecutor Matt Lanier shed some light on the decision to amend the charges. On the reduced charges for Rizzo, he said:

We spent some time looking at the body cam video, the 911 call, talking with officers, and also talking with Ms. Rizzo. In this case she submitted to our office an affidavit that requested the charges be dismissed. She didn’t want to pursue it. We took that into account, but didn’t feel comfortable dismissing the case, we didn’t feel comfortable making it a minor misdemeanor. We felt that, looking at all the facts — video, the 911 calls, all those sorts of things, photographs — that this was an appropriate resolution.

On what happened the night of the incident:

Well, it’ll still be subject to some dispute. She called 911, and in the 911 call she indicated that Mr. Rizzo and her had been in a physical altercation and that he had initiated it, he had pulled her hair. The 911 call has been heard, that he had further choked and strangled her. Since that time, she submitted an affidavit to our office to the defense that indicated that she had, in fact, initiated the physical confrontation by striking him with a glass and that all he did was defend himself. So she essentially put forward two different version of the facts; we had to consider that when deciding whether or not reduce this charge or move forward, and we did.

Video of Lanier is here:

Rizzo’s lawyer also spoke, providing the non-answer answers of any seasoned defense attorney:

Rizzo will be back in court soon for sentencing.

This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2014.

Doug Brown is a staff writer at Scene with a passion for public records laws and investigative reporting. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., he has an M.A. in journalism from the Kent State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a B.A. in political science from Hiram College. Prior to joining Scene, Doug was a contributing writer for Deadspin.com, reporting behind-the-scenes stories about college sports through public records and developing sources. Doug's work as an enterprise reporter for the Daily Kent Stater was recognized by the Cleveland Press Club (2013 Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards), Society of Professional Journalists (regional and national Mark of Excellence Awards), and the Associated Collegiate Press. He spent the summer of 2012 working for the Metro desk of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and spent previous summers working for Outside Bozeman Magazine and Crain's Detroit Business. His website is dougbrown8.com.

10 replies on “VIDEO: Tony Rizzo’s Day In Court”

  1. Why do a lot of ladies involved in domestic disputes change stories, and then NOT want to press charges? I understanding the whole “stand by your man” thing, but it seems that more often than not, these women end up being continuously abused. I will never understand it.

  2. they are afraid of the abuse afterwards..if you never been in this situation, you probably wont understand. But it is up to the police dept to press charges even if the woman doesn’t..it’s suppose to be the LAW!

  4. Because she started it by hitting him with a glass. She should be charged not him. Why do women think they can hit a man and not get a response?

  5. the picture of him with the mustache is very creepy. wise choice on his part to shave it before going to court.

  7. Ms. Rizzo hit him first and Mr. Rizzo didn’t call the police on her. Funny how he’s portrayed as the abuser in this incident. This is a very common scenario. The woman calls the police in a normal heated private argument and the man pays the price

  8. I’m pretty sure she called 911 because of the whole choking and strangulation thing. You don’t choke and strangle your spouse if they hit you with a glass, that’s the response that gets you a date in court. What you really do is leave the house, call the cops, and stay away from the nut inside until the police arrive.

  9. The “domestic violence” charge is an affront to the constitutional precept of “equal protection”. Why does an assault on a domestic partner result in a first degree misdemeanor whereas an assault on a non-relative does not? Aren’t all citizens equal under the law? Oh yes, and by the way, a conviction of DV carries a LIFETIME loss of ones second amendment rights.

  10. Rizzo is such a hypocrite. He blasts Ray Rice on the radio for domestic violence and approved of his suspension, yet Rizzo beat his wife in a coke and alcohol rage but did not get a fine or suspension from his job.

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