Police: Agent was drunk

Sports super agent Leigh Steinberg was arrested on suspicion of public drunkenness after police found him lying on the ground near Newport Auto Center on East Coast Highway last week, police said Wednesday.

Newport Beach Police responded to a radio call of a man yelling about 7:45 p.m. Oct. 22 at 445 E. Coast Hwy. and found Steinberg “lying down in the dirt and grass,” Sgt. Evan Sailor said.

“Upon contact, the subject was displaying symptoms of alcohol intoxication and was having difficulty speaking,” Sailor said.

Steinberg, 59, who has represented numerous famed professional athletes including Oscar de la Hoya, Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Aikman, was later released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 8 at Harbor Justice Center.

Efforts to reach him Wednesday for comment were unsuccessful.

Steinberg has had a few alcohol-related brushes with the law in the past.

He was put on informal probation in July 2007 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The charges stemmed from an April 2007 arrest after Steinberg hit three parked cars on West Coast Highway near the Balboa Bay Club with his 2002 Mercedes-Benz ML 500 before running over a fire hydrant.

Steinberg also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving in Newport Beach in September 1996.

The first conviction does not reflect on Steinberg’s record because it occurred more than 10 years ago.

Steinberg is widely credited for being the inspiration for the 1996 film “Jerry Maguire.”

His marketing and consulting firm Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment is headquartered in Newport Beach.

Recognized as one of the top sports attorneys in the nation, Steinberg also was a consultant on films including “For The Love of the Game,” “Any Given Sunday” and the television series “Arliss.”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.