CBS Sports and Tony Romo have officially parted ways, one month after the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback pleaded no contest to charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Romo had been on leave since his July 23 arrest in Wisconsin. He had been the lead game analyst for CBS’ NFL coverage since 2017.

“CBS Sports and Tony Romo have mutually agreed to part ways,” CBS Sports said Friday in a statement. “We thank Tony for his contributions over the past nine years and wish him the best moving forward.”

Analyst JJ Watt had joined play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on CBS Sports’ lead NFL team during Romo’s absence. Watt will continue in that role now and all other CBS teams will remain the same.

“I’m proud of what I accomplished at CBS Sports over the last nine years,” Romo said in a statement. “I approached my role as a game analyst the way I’ve approached everything in my life — with a desire to win and be the best that I can be. I’m going to use this time to take a break, something I’ve never done before, and focus on my health and my family before moving on to my next opportunity. I am grateful for my time with CBS Sports and for the continued support of my family and friends, as well as the NFL community and fans.”

Romo was arrested following a traffic stop as he was driving south on Interstate 43 in Wisconsin. He pleaded no contest to a charge of operating while intoxicated on Sept. 1 and issued a statement apologizing for the actions that led to his arrest.

According to Milwaukee County court records, Romo lost his driving privileges for six months and was ordered to complete an alcohol assessment program.

“The past month has been difficult, but it has also been personally significant,” Romo said Sept. 1 in a statement on Instagram. “It has required me to confront and own my mistakes fully — to the Lord, to myself, to my family and now to the public.”

Romo said the multiple back surgeries that led to his retirement as a player “left me with constant, debilitating pain.” He noted that the pain “led to a dependence on pain medication, and my efforts to get off those medications led to an over-reliance on alcohol.”

“None of this is an excuse,” Romo said. “These are my failures and I take responsibility for them.”

Romo said he is working with a team of doctors to address his health and “make the necessary changes.”

The 46-year-old Romo made four Pro Bowl appearances during a playing career that ran from 2004-16 and was spent entirely with Dallas.

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COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — In the shadow of Washington, Bruce Springsteen and a few musical giants had a message for the world: “Let them hear you in Washington,” he cheered.

The Boss played a number of political songs during his headlining set at the inaugural “Power to the People” star-studded protest festival at Columbia, Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion on Saturday. Organized by Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, the festival aimed to celebrate “peace, justice, solidarity, music and community action,” according to its mission statement, and promote voter turnout.

Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales will benefit the organizations VoteRiders and HeadCount.

Many of the acts used their platform to denounce recent actions conducted by the U.S. government.

For example, Springsteen opened with “Streets of Minneapolis,” in response to the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents.

“The power and solidarity of the people of Minneapolis, of Minnesota, is an inspiration to the entire country,” he told the sold-out crowd. “Their strength and their commitment told us that this is still America, and this will not stand. They gave us hope. They showed us courage.”

For his second number, folk icon Joan Baez emerged, and the pair duetted Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom.” Later, Springsteen, Morello, Dave Matthews and Nathaniel Rateliff joined forces for Creedence Clearwater Revival's “Fortunate Son.”

In addition to the protest music on stage, fans in the crowd wore shirts with strong messages. “Immigrants Make America Great,” read one. “No Kings,” “No one is illegal on stolen land,” “Bring on the Matriarchy” read others.

And across the fest grounds stood a “Freedom Village,” an activation where attendees could engage with nonprofits like the ACLU, Farm Aid, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Oxfam and more.

“Power to the People” was revealed in May, around the same time several musical guests announced they had backed out of America’s 250th anniversary celebration, “The Great American State Fair,” over the event’s ties to President Donald Trump .

“Power to the People” stood in stark opposition. The one-day, two-stage festival boasted a stacked lineup heavy with veteran rock ‘n’ roll bands. It also included performances by acts like Dropkick Murphys, Jack Black, Serj Tankian, Killer Mike and the Linda Lindas.

And conveniently, “Power to the People” took place one month before the midterm elections.

“I think the timing is a reminder that showing up matters. I’m not here to tell anyone what to think or how to vote,” Taylor Momsen, one of the festival’s performers, told The Associated Press. “I hope people leave feeling connected, inspired to care about the people around them, and reminded that we all have a part to play in our communities. If the festival can create that feeling, I think that’s a win.”

Among those in attendance was former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who was photographed by fellow concertgoers wearing a black Springsteen T-shirt that said “No Kings” in images widely shared online.

His public appearance came just days after a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which he firmly defended the two prosecutions he brought against President Donald Trump over the Republican’s efforts to undo the presidential election and his retention of classified records at his Mar-a-Lago estate .

After the news organization Just the News publicized Smith’s attendance, Trump lashed out against his long-running antagonist, sharing the story about the concert on Truth Social and adding the message: “Deranged Jack Smith is a Crooked Prosecutor! President DJT.”

Political messaging arrived fast and furious at the event. One of the day’s earliest performers, the rap rock artist Grandson, performed a song with the refrain “My president's a felon” before launching into a cover of Bob Dylan’s Cold War protest, “Masters of War.”

Later, a livestream broadcast of the “Power to the People” festival cut out as Grandson introduced two actors portraying Jeffrey Epstein and Trump, who joined him on stage, connected by a leash.

Other acts focused on a central message of the festival — directing attendees to the nonprofits at the adjacent Freedom Village and, more commonly, the importance of voting in the upcoming midterm elections.

“Vote locally in thirty days,” rapper Killer Mike said mid-set. “And hold the (expletive) you vote for accountable — on school boards, county commissions … and when you do, don't have an ounce of fear or trepidation because this republic is ran by you.”

Shortly after 3 p.m., the comedian Jack Black appeared on stage as “Jack Sabbath,” performing Black Sabbath covers while backed by a band of children — including the sons of Morello and Anthrax’s Scott Ian — in what read like both a real-life “School of Rock” set and a touching tribute to the late, great Ozzy Osbourne. In fact, Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler joined them on stage for “War Pigs.”

In Morello’s early evening set, he was joined by System of a Down’s Serj Tankian for a duet of Audioslave’s “Like a Stone” in honor of the late frontman Chris Cornell. It was the start of a trend: After Tankian came Chuck D, Run DMC, Flavor Flav for various covers; Morello and Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl also tackled Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite.”

Baez, Rateliff and Matthews joined forces for Woody Guthrie's protest song “Deportees,” before launching into Baez's “(Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody) Turn Me Around.”

As they exited, Stephen Stills took the stage to perform Buffalo Springfield's “For What It’s Worth.”

The festival, which Baez labeled a “magnificent antidote,” concluded with all the day’s performers singing Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” — with all its original verses — as well as John Lennon’s “Power to the People.”

“This festival means that peace, love, and justice do not have to remain nouns. They can become verbs — things that we can all contribute to — when we come together and rock out in the name of anti-fascist, radical equality,” a young fan named Evangeline Topete, who wore a shirt that read “Destroy American Fascism,” told The Associated Press. “Rock ‘n’ roll can save us. And so can giving the power where it belongs: to the people!”

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The public hasn’t viewed a single frame yet from director Greta Gerwig’s movie adaptation from the classic children’s book series, “The Chronicles of Narnia,” but a casting decision is already generating outrage from many conservative Christian commentators.

They’re distressed by news that a female actor — the Oscar-winning Meryl Streep — will be voicing the role of Aslan the lion in “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.” Aslan is considered a literary representation of Jesus Christ in the seven Narnia books by British Christian author C.S. Lewis, published in the 1950s. The books depict the lion as male, with a glorious mane.

Filmmakers routinely take license in adapting books — compressing timelines, combining characters and more. Gerwig herself is resetting “The Magician’s Nephew” from around 1900 to the 1950s.

The casting of Streep doesn't necessarily mean that Aslan will be depicted as female. But to conservative Christian critics, even the possibility of portraying a divine Christ figure as anything but male goes beyond artistic license. They deem it an attack on their faith, noting that the Bible and ancient creeds speak of God the Father and Jesus as the Son of God.

“This is a well-known ploy of the enemies of God, to subvert and destroy symbols of Christianity in an effort to win a war of attrition for the heart of the culture,” wrote Seth Udinsky in a column for the Christian Post, an evangelical news website. He contended that Gerwig is turning Aslan “transgender,” citing a newly released photo from the movie’s promoters, depicting the lion with rainbow-tinted whiskers.

Similar comments, and rebuttals, appear in numerous replies to Netflix's posting about the casting on Instagram.

Some Lewis scholars and aficionados are taking a wait-and-see approach. The Netflix production is scheduled for theatrical release in February.

Kat Coffin, a New York-based writer and scholar of Lewis, said she has questions about the casting decision but added: “I am far more disturbed by the people who are violently opposed and angry at the idea that the incarnation of God could be anything even hinted toward feminine.”

Gerwig, in public statements, hasn’t addressed the gender question directly, but did say she saw Streep as one of the few actors who could meet her criteria for Aslan’s voice.

“I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness,” Gerwig said. “Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight. I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was a wisdom of experience, but who also had the capacity of fresh wonder, like a child. And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it.”

Gerwig said she first read “The Magician’s Nephew” as a child, falling in love with the story and its enchanted world.

Gerwig is known for bringing feminist interpretations to her acclaimed movies "Barbie” and “Little Women,” also based on intellectual properties that have long been popular with children.

Further raising hackles is a report in the movie magazine Empire that Gerwig took inspiration from the pop artist David Bowie , known for his gender ambiguity, in depicting the lion with different-colored eyes and “bold red-striped visage.”

“The Magician’s Nephew” — published in 1955, eight years before Lewis’ death — tells the story of two children, Digory and Polly, who are sent to parallel worlds by evil magic. They ultimately arrive in the newly created, fantastical land of Narnia, but they inadvertently bring with them the evil witch, Jadis. In this and subsequent Narnia books, Aslan leads his young followers in combating and defeating evil.

For Ted Baehr, having a woman portray Aslan is a direct challenge to Christian doctrine on the nature of God.

Baehr is founder and publisher of Movieguide, which advises Christian parents on what to watch.

“This movie could do very well, but the better it does, there’s a lot of Christians who will be concerned for their children and grandchildren,” said Baehr, who led a company that produced a 1979 animated television version of another Narnia book.

Baehr praised Gerwig’s directing skills but said she may not understand the issue’s importance to many Christians. While Lewis said his Narnia books are not allegories, they do closely parallel biblical stories and concepts. Baehr said they can’t be adapted as readily as the recent Christopher Nolan movie “The Odyssey” did with Greek myth.

“The Gospel is not a myth,” he said.

The criticisms reflect the deep bond that many Christians, particularly evangelicals, feel with Lewis, who promoted Christian teachings and themes through fiction and nonfiction.

Narnia has a broad reader base, with reported sales of 120 million books worldwide since the first volume's publication 75 years ago this month. Its Christian readers feel a particular sense of ownership.

“I know a lot of people who are genuinely concerned, because the original stories mean so much to them,” said Christin Ditchfield Lazo, an author of books on Lewis.

The Narnia series has “had a profound impact on the lives of millions of people — especially people of faith, who love the spiritual truths in these stories and want them to be faithfully represented,” she said.

Ditchfield Lazo urged Christians to reserve judgment.

“There’s a huge difference between a woman voicing a male character and the director changing the gender of the character,” she said. “It could be problematic, but we won’t know until we see the film.”

She noted that men and women have often played or voiced each others’ roles, from Shakespearean drama to modern animations.

Many evangelicals did embrace the early 2000s movies based on the first three Narnia books, with actor Liam Neeson providing the deep, masculine voice of Aslan.

Coffin said that God has been portrayed with feminine characteristics in other literary works — including Narnia itself, where Aslan also appears as a lamb with a “sweet milky voice.”

“I would describe that as a feminine presentation,” Coffin said.

A statement from the family of Lewis’ late wife, Joy Davidman Gresham, praised Gerwig for her “sincere passion” for the Narnia works.

“We saw this enthusiasm during our visit to the set in London,” said the statement, provided by Netflix. “We are thrilled to be working with such a talented and accomplished director and production team, and are keen to continue working with them on future projects.”

The C.S. Lewis Co. — holders of Lewis intellectual property rights and producers on the film — stated: “It’s incredibly moving to see how deeply Greta Gerwig has embraced C.S. Lewis’ world, and infused ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’ with joy, heart, and genuine love for the story.”