Bobby Petrino Accident: Arkansas Coach's Fate Is Up in the Air

On Tuesday, a beat-up Bobby Petrino, neck brace and all, met with the media less than 48 hours after crashing his motorcycle and nearly killing himself in the process. He left the hospital that day and greeted the cameras, microphones and curious faces with a cracked C-2 vertebra, broken ribs and a mug that looked like it had been through hell and back. Yet, still, this brave soul worked up enough strength and courage to try to resurrect his normal routine. 

He discussed the grave mistake he made with the crowd—not wearing a helmet. It was a matter of comfort and style (or more of a lack thereof), and he even joked about the blunder, saying it was a “bad call” and he “wouldn’t have converted the third down.” The man then mustered up enough courage to take in his team’s spring practice from the press box in his fragile form.

We commended Bobby Petrino for being tough, as did his players and his athletic director, Jeff Long. At the time it just seemed like the appropriate thing to do.

Only two days later, however, it was Long that was forced to deal with the cameras, microphones and curious faces at an unfamiliar hour. The circumstances were much different now. His face was intact, his neck wasn’t engulfed in padding, but he had just endured his own kind of hell.

It was here that Long told the world that Bobby Petrino—the same man he said he “admired” days earlier—was being placed on paid administrative leave for having an “inappropriate relationship” with a female. More importantly, he concealed this relationship until moments before the university would learn the truth in a police report.

Before Long addressed the room, he handed out the statement created by Petrino’s brain trust, which revealed the head coach’s apology to his family, the university and beyond. This served as a medium for information, not emotion.

This statement was certainly the most crucial piece of literature on Thursday, but it has company in terms of its importance. In the grand scheme, it pales in comparison to a document and decision that will now become the focus of a review. You must go all the way back to March 28th of this year, just a small calendar flip away, to see this conflict’s roots.

It was on this day that Jessica Dorrell, Petrino’s riding companion and apparent mistress, was introduced as the Student-Athlete Development Coordinator for the Arkansas football team. The announcement at the time was nothing more than your vanilla PR warm welcome with adequate quotes from an opinion that mattered.

A little over a week later, the text hasn’t changed. The meaning behind the words, however, is drastically different:

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“Jessica Dorrell will be a great addition to our football program,” said Coach Petrino. “As a former student-athlete she has an enthusiasm for the Razorbacks and is familiar with what the University of Arkansas can offer. She is extremely organized and has a professional approach, which should translate well into our program and recruiting as we continue to place an emphasis on this area.”

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This is where infidelity, which will take on varying opinions with each individual, crosses paths with his position and the integrity of the university. Having a mistress is one thing; hiring her is without question another.

Ultimately, it’s the potential legal and university ramifications that will decide Petrino’s fate. By placing him on leave, Arkansas is allowing itself the opportunity to gather details, facts and legal necessities before taking further action, or before further action is taken against it.

Beyond the facts, however, is the reaction. This is not something the university can determine, as it will eventually take shape on its own.

It may not have the same look and feel as the corporations you know, but a university is a decorated profit-making machine that will do what’s in its best interest to stay profitable. A key aspect in staying profitable is having boosters willing to support you, which is easier when your football team is on the rise in the nation’s best conference.

The boosters have more say in matters than we’d like to believe, and while wealthy alums won’t seal Petrino’s future, an unhappy ATM can add influence to an already complex situation. Boosters aren’t the only ones that determine profit, however, and those that sign the checks aren’t the only ones with influence.

It’s impossible to predict how the public will view Petrino with the available information, but you don’t need pitchforks to create a mob. Petrino’s personal life is about to be dissected, and we will know soon enough how deep it goes.

His lone appearance through it all came when he was most vulnerable, just days after the accident and only hours after leaving the hospital. It would have been easy to provide a simple literature announcing your status, but he chose to showcase his fragile state. This was not an action of bravery but instead a desperate attempt to return to that normal routine. What we didn't know at the time was what normal was.

The future surrounding Petrino will depend on the past, and more specifically what got him to where he is right now. We will know soon enough just how much he disregarded his moral filter and put the university at risk in the process. There's nothing that can be done to change that, as the outcome will now take its course.

Petrino will now wait for a resolution, sort out his personal matters and heal his still-battered body. Although we viewed the neck brace and bruises as a combination of reckless battle scars, it turns out that the physical destruction instead foreshadowed what lies ahead.