Arkansas football head coach Bobby Petrino has been fired after it was discovered that a female employee was with him at the time of his motorcycle accident.

Jessica Dorrell, a 25-year old football program employee, was riding with Petrino during the time of his accident.

Petrino did not initially tell Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long about Dorrell's presence. Long found out when the police report was released on Thursday. Petrino admitted to having a relationship with the woman, who is half his age, despite having a wife and four kids.

Petrino will not receive the $18 million he is owed because he was fired "with cause."

"He made the decision, a conscious decision, to mislead the public on Tuesday, and in doing so negatively and adversely affected the reputation of the University of Arkansas and our football program," said Long. "In short, coach Petrino engaged in a pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior designed to deceive me and members of the athletic staff, both before and after the motorcycle accident."

Long has the right to fire Petrino for being dishonest with his boss, but the coach did not deserve to lose his job.

The coach's actions certainly aren't admirable, but they are not a fireable offense either.

This is an issue between Petrino and his family, not Petrino and the Arkansas athletics department. If every athlete or coach was dismissed because of his infidelity, a lot of teams would have trouble putting together a full roster.

In a press conference last week, Petrino didn't mention that Dorrell was involved in the accident. A press conference is no place for the coach to announce that he's having an affair.

Once the information became public, Petrino released a statement, apologizing for his actions.

"I will fully cooperate with the university throughout this process and my hope is to repair my relationships with my family, my athletic director, the Razorback Nation and remain the head coach of the Razorbacks."

As far as I'm concerned, the coach's relationship with the fans should be fine. He didn't cheat on Razorback Nation.

As fans, we expect sports personalities to be perfect. Ideally, they would all be people to look up to.

Unfortunately, Charles Barkley was right. Athletes, and coaches alike, aren't role models. They are regular people who have flaws like everyone else.

The school wasn't only upset that Petrino was having an affair.

Arkansas expressed concern that Dorrell received unfair treatment because of her relationship with Petrino. She was hired four days before the motorcycle accident, and got her job ahead of 158 applicants. Long viewed this as the coach "abusing his authority."

Why is it a problem that Petrino hired Dorrell?

In his stand-up special "Bigger and Blacker," Chris Rock wondered why people cared that President Clinton tried to get Monica Lewinsky a job after he had an affair with her.

"You can't get your friend a job? 80 percent of the people in this room got their jobs because a friend recommended them! It's against the law to get your friend a job?"

The same logic applies here.

Long was also upset that Petrino gave Dorrell $20,000.

How is this relevant to Petrino's job status?

As Chris Rock said, referring to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, "So what he got her some gifts? That's his friend! You can't buy your friend a gift?"

The biggest crime Petrino committed was against his family.

He did an excellent job at Arkansas, going 34-17 in his tenure. He should be given a chance to continue having success. The Arkansas athletic department shouldn't judge Petrino on how he chooses to live his life.

It's Petrino's wife that should end her relationship with Bobby, not Arkansas.

 

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