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Petrino fired as Arkansas head football coach

(CNN) -- Bobby Petrino has been fired as head football coach at the University of Arkansas, the school's athletics director said Tuesday. Petrino's lack of candor about his "personal and professional relationship" with a female employee who was riding with him on a motorcycle that crashed earlier this month was key to the decision, Jeff Long told reporters.

"Coach Petrino knowingly misled the athletics department and the university about the circumstances related to his accident," Long said in a news conference at the university's baskeball arena in Fayetteville. Though the 51-year-old coach had "multiple opportunities" over four days after the accident to be forthcoming, "he chose not to."

Petrino had been placed on paid administrative leave last week after it was revealed he had not disclosed that Jessica Dorrell, a 25-year-old female member of his staff, was on his motorcycle with him when it crashed on April 1 and that he had given her unfairly favorable treatment in hiring her on his staff.

Long said Petrino had been fired with cause, meaning the university is not obligated to pay out his contract.

Jessica Dorrell, a 25-year-old member of his staff, was on Petrino's motorcycle with him when it crashed .

 

University Chancellor G. David Gearhart issued a statement Tuesday saying the coach's contract "establishes a process by which he may have his termination decision reviewed. Under that process, the review would ultimately come to me for consideration and action.

"Given my role in the review process as chancellor, I must decline further comment on today's announcement."

Petrino issued a statement Tuesday night saying he takes responsibility for what happened and apologizing for, among other things, putting Long "in the position of having to sort through my mistakes."

 

"The simplest response I have is: I'm sorry," Petrino said in the statement. "These two words seem very inadequate. But that is my heart. All I have been able to think about is the number of people I've let down by making selfish decisions. I've taken a lot of criticism in the past. Some deserved, some not deserved. This time, I have no one to blame but myself."

Petrino also said, "I have hurt my wife, Becky, and our four children. I've let down the University of Arkansas, my team, coaching staff and everyone associated with the Razorback football program."

He also said his "sole focus at this point is trying to repair the damage I've done to my family. They did not ask for any of this and deserve better. I am committed to being a better husband, father and human being as a result of this and will work each and every day to prove that to my family, friends and others."

Long said his review of the case "raised several concerns which led me to look beyond the accident itself," Long said, citing "the process and circumstances that influenced his decision to hire (Dorrell) as a direct-report member of his staff, and his candor and behavior as a member of my staff."

 

Long said Petrino had had a "consensual relationship" with Dorrell, and that Petrino had given Dorrell "some $20,000" and failed to disclose their relationship when recommending her for the job with the department, thereby giving her "an unfair and undisclosed advantage for a position on his football staff."

Dorrell, Long said, was one of 159 applicants for the job.

"By itself, Coach Petrino's consensual relationship with Miss Dorrell prior to her joining the football staff was not against university policy," Long said. "By itself, it's a matter between individuals and their families.

"However, in this case, Coach Petrino abused his authority when over the past few weeks he made a staff decision and personal choices that benefited himself" and compromised the university, Long said.

He said Petrino also "engaged in a pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior designed to deceive me and members of the athletics staff both before and after the accident," Long said.

 

Petrino told the police investigating the crash that the sun and wind had caused him to lose control and crash into a pile of dirt and tree limbs on the side of the road, according to the police report.

"He made a choice to return to practice (last) Tuesday, to hold a press conference and to demonstrate his physical resiliency and command of his program, all the time failing to correct the initial report that he was the only person involved in the accident. He made a conscious decision to speak and mislead the public on Tuesday."

In four seasons as head coach, Petrino led the Razorbacks to a 34-17 record, including an 11-2 record last season that included a victory in the Cotton Bowl. Arkansas finished the season ranked among the top five college teams in the nation.

CNN's Nick Valencia contributed to this report.

Legal Glimpse: The Petrino Firing & Moral Clauses

Arkansas has fired Bobby Petrino, saying he "knowingly misled" and engaged in reckless behavior in a relationship with a female employee.

The 51-year-old Petrino was injured in an April 1 motorcycle accident. He was put on paid leave last week after admitting he lied about the presence of the 25-year-old employee, Jessica Dorrell, who had been riding with him.

Dorrell was hired by Petrino as the student-athlete development coordinator weeks ago.

"He made the decision to mislead the public, (and it) adversely affected the university and the football program," athletic director Jeff Long said at an evening news conference. There was a "pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior to deceive me."

He was 34-17 since he was hired in 2008 and was 21-5 in the past two seasons.

Petrino’s Employment Agreement

Petrino’s employment agreement issummarized in an engagement letter. At Section 9 of that letter, the University is granted broad powers to terminate Petrino for conduct or behavior that it does not agree with or approve of. In particular, it provides that the University reserves the right to terminate Petrino if he has engaged “in conduct, as solely determined by the University, which is clearly contrary to the character and responsibilities of a person occupying the position of Head Football Coach or which negatively or adversely affects the reputation of the University…in any way”. Here’s the actual clause:

This is broad since it allows the University to determine on its own the type of behaviour it doesn’t like. It needs to act reasonably – but nevertheless it still makes that assessment of right versus wrong.

By firing Petrino on the basis of his conduct, the University does so with cause. That means they don’t have to pay him out or offer him severance. That’s also significant.

Petrino will forfeit his salary, which averages about $3.5 million a year over the next 6 years. Here are the details:

Petrino could challenge the firing by arguing his behavior did not constitute just cause and that he is entitled to money. There is a lot of money at stake (about $21 million), so it would not be surprising to see some type of challenged materialize.

Moral Clauses

The University's clause in its contract is a moral clause. These moral clauses are usually pretty broad to give a company the option of cutting an employee if they engage in questionable behaviour. Don’t forget – employers are generally risk adverse as they don't want to associate themselves with a negative image.

Morals are shaped by the beliefs of a society, and so by implication, interpreting what’s moral can be a subjective exercise, at times elusive and constantly in flux.

The history behind moral clauses reveal their vagueness and how they are tied to the beliefs of a society. In the 1920s, the clauses became notorious during the McCarthyist era when they were used to terminate contracts of many writers, directors and producers who were accused of having communist leanings.

More recently, morals clauses have been used to terminate sponsor deals with Rashard Mendenhall (Twitter incident), Tiger Woods (adultery), Michael Vick (dog fighting), Kobe Bryant (sexual assault) and Randy Moss (photographed with cocaine).

This isn’t the first time Petrino has demonstrated peculiar judgement. On December 10, 2007, with the Falcons languishing in the NFC South cellar with a 3-10 record, Petrino resigned his position in Atlanta the day after pledging his commitment to owner Arthur Blank. Petrino informed his players of his decision with a short laminated note left at the locker of each player.

Now we wait and see if lawyers get involved.

Bobby Petrino Phone Records Revealed: Nude Pictures Of Ex-Arkansas Coach Reportedly To Surface

Bobby Petrino looks on during the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 24, 2011. 

 

The extent of the relationship between ex-Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino and 25-year-old female Arkansas employee Jessica Dorrell was further illuminated on Wednesday as six months of the coach's business phone records were obtained by The Associated Press, Deadspin and various other media outlets.

A married father of four, Petrino exchanged a whopping 84 texts with Dorrell on Oct. 28, the day before the Razorbacks played Vanderbilt, according to The Associated Press. A former Arkansas volleyball player, the 25-year-old Dorrell was engaged in a relationship with the married coach, who eventually played a role in her hiring. The phone records also show that the pair spoke for 22 minutes the day after the motorcycle accident -- with Dorrell riding along -- that set in motion a chain of events that led to Petrino being placed on leave and eventually fired.

A tweet by Clay Travis of OutkickTheCoverage.com suggested that the phone records could merely be a precursor to an even more salacious turn in the story.

jessica dorrell pictures

Bobby Petrino Will Bring Jessica Dorrell Down with Him Amidst Arkansas Scandal

Bobby Petrino and Jessica Dorrell are not the first couple to throw away so much for so little, and they won't be the last. They are just the latest to have their lives destroyed for an affair that will have ramifications for the rest of their lives.

News broke over the weekend that the female passenger involved in Bobby Petrino's recent motorcycle accident was 25-year old Jessica Dorrell, a former Arkansas volleyball player that is now a Razorback Foundation fundraiser, and a woman with which the Razorbacks' head coach was having an affair.

Robby Neiswanger of The Arkansas News reports on the latest sordid affair to rock sports headlines.

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino has been place on paid administrative leave after admitting to an “inappropriate relationship” with an athletic department employee.

That's the official word on what is a very emotional story, breaking one family and potentially destroying another before it even begins.

 

Petrino is married with four children and previously acknowledged a past inappropriate relationship, but never mentioned Dorrell by name.

Petrino is on leave and could possibly lose his job.

The one person that never banked on fame coming from her secret affair is Jessica Dorell. ESPN reports the 25-year old is in hiding at the moment, and we can only imagine how surreal life has become for her.
CBS Sports reports Dorrell is engaged to be married this June.

(Jessica Dorrell) is engaged to Josh Morgan, UA's swimming and diving director of operations, according to multiple sources and an online wedding registry. Dorrell and Morgan have a June 9 wedding date, according to their registry.

 

Dorrell and Petrino were walking a tight rope of comfort and frivolity, only to see just how dire things can become without the safety net of privacy.

The world now knows Dorrell, and it's for a reason that she would have never wanted.

While Petrino awaits a decision, a woman who was nameless a week ago is in the midst of a life altering nightmare.

We will all one day forget the name Jessica Dorell, but that matters little to a woman whose life has been irreparably shattered.

Per the ESPN report, a friend has spoken out on the behalf of Dorrell:

We feel like we have to do all we can right now to protect her. She's done so many great things, but all of that is wiped out in the eyes of some people now. She's not a bad person.

In the blink of an eye, Dorrell's one blatant miscalculation has ruined nothing short of her reputation. Petrino has years to repair his name in the form of wins and titles, just look at Rick Pitino's resurgence.
Unfortunately, Dorrell is afforded no such luxury.