Arkansas Football: Bobby Petrino's Personal Life Is Our Business

Contrary to popular belief, writers hate these types of stories. We don't like diving into the personal lives of people we cover, especially when it involves details that are a bit uncomfortable. 

Bobby Petrino was placed on administrative leave after admitting that he withheld information from athletic director Jeff Long. That information included the fact that Jessica Dorrell—an employee of the athletic department—was with Petrino at the time of his recent road accident.

Petrino later admitted to a previous inappropriate relationship via statement (courtesy of KTHV in Little Rock):

"

I regret that I have not publicly 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.

"

This begs the question, are the personal lives of coaches our business? Typically no; but in this case, absolutely.

Bobby Petrino made this the public's business by publicly embarrassing his employer—the University of Arkansas—by not disclosing all of the information regarding a legal matter up front. At that point, all bets were off.

Arkansas had already made a public stance to back Petrino's story. Therefore, it had to protect itself from further embarrassment by backing away from its embattled coach, especially in the wake of the news that the crash involved another employee of the University. That is, one which Petrino hired. That makes this an ethics issue.

It's also a football issue. If you don't think this situation will be brought up in the homes of recruits, you're kidding yourself. If I'm the parent of a recruit, I want to know what kind of man Petrino is, and right now, he looks like a liar.

I know the next response: "Would you be fired if you admitted to an inappropriate relationship with your boss?"  

Coaches aren't like regular people. Their jobs demand a different level of accountability due to the fact that they are public figures. With that prestige comes a responsibility to your employer and the public. Once you betray that trust, it's open season.  

That's where Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino finds himself now, and that's his fault.

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