University of Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino has been placed on paid administrative leave after he failed to disclose that 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell, a recent hire to the Arkansas football staff, was with him during last Sunday’s motorcycle crash leaving Petrino in a neck brace. The University plans to conduct a full investigation and decide if further punishment is needed.
Oh yeah, Petrino is also married and not to Dorrell.
Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long announced Petrino’s suspension Thursday night and determined that linebackers coach Taver Johnson will fill in as head coach for the time being.
Petrino also released a statement:
The state police report today provides an accurate description of my accident, which includes details that had not publically come to light prior to the report being issued. I regret that I have not publically acknowledged a passenger on the vehicle. I have been in constant pain, medicated and the circumstances involving the wreck have come out in bits and pieces. That said I certainly had a concern about Jessica Dorrell’s name being revealed. In my press conference, I referred to her simply as ‘a lady’. My concern was to protect my family and a previous inappropriate relationship from becoming public. In hindsight, I showed a serious mistake in judgment when I chose not to be more specific about those details. Today, I’ve acknowledged this previous inappropriate relationship with my family and those within the athletic department administration.
I apologize to my wife, Becky, and our four children, Chancellor (David) Gearhart, Jeff Long, the Board of Trustees, University administration, my coaching staff, student-athletes and the entire state of Arkansas. I have been humbled by the outpouring of concern and get-well wishes. I apologize to the Razorback Nation for the attention my actions have brought to the University of Arkansas and our program. 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.
Ref: Deadspin, 5 News Online
