A few drinks with a friend visiting from interstate has been revealed as the cause of Richmond AFL player Jay Schulz's much-publicised drink-driving incident.

In an apology e-mailed to Richmond members and posted on the club's website on Monday, Schulz described his decision to drink-drive as "stupid" and said he was totally to blame.

Schulz was caught by police last week travelling at 80km/h in a 40km/h zone, with a blood alcohol reading of .065.

It led to Victoria's road safety body, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), stripping the Tigers of its six-figure major sponsorship.

As well as the estimated $400,000 lost in the sponsorship arrangement, Schulz also lost his licence for six months, was fined by police and received a $5,000 fine from Richmond for breaching the players' code of conduct.

"I had the opportunity to catch up with a friend from interstate, who I had not seen for a long time, at a mate's house last Wednesday night," Schulz said in his apology.

"The decision to have a few drinks and drive my car home - about 10 minutes away - was totally wrong, and one I clearly now regret."

Schulz, who turns 20 later this month, said the ensuing publicity and furore had been "extremely tough to handle", but said he hoped to repay the Tigers' decision not to sack him over the incident.

"I cannot change what's happened, so I need to move on and learn from my mistake," Schulz said.

"What I need to do is regain the respect of my teammates, and all of you.

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