Bobby Petrino: Arkansas Would Ruin Image of Program by Retaining Coach

If Arkansas retains Bobby Petrino, what does that say about this program and their morals?

Nothing good.

Petrino, 51, who is married with children, crashed his motorcycle with a 25 year old female passenger according to Sports Illustrated.

As has been vintage Petrino over the past 10 years, he initially lied about details of the crash, before he was forced to own up.

In the NCAA—and in major athletics abroad in the United States—athletes are held to a fairly high behavioral standard. Punishments for poor decisions come with a hefty price, executed through law enforcement and/or public ridicule.

Coaches should be held to an even higher standard.

What example would this set for current and future players? What about the recruits Petrino has to influence and persuade? Can Arkansas effectively recruit a kid whose parents are conscious of the character of the program's head coach?

The program cannot justifiably call itself respectable if it sweeps this latest poor decision under the rug. 

Notice, I said latest, because this isn't the first time Petrino has done something that would cause the parents of potential recruits to question his character.

Petrino undermined his previous boss Tom Tuberville to meet secretly about the job at Auburn (via AccessNorthGA.com). Once the meetings became public knowledge, Petrino apologized to Tuberville for the meetings, but of course, he initially lied about the situation.

Petrino also left the Louisville Cardinals and his players high and dry in 2007 after finishing the first year of a whopping 10-year contract extension that would pay him $1.6 million dollars per year.

What was even worse—he ditched them a week before the team was to play in the Orange Bowl. He signed a lucrative deal to become the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons weren't immune to Petrino's lack of principles either. He left them 13 games into the season, after a blowout loss (via ESPN).

The kicker: He informed the players with a note in each of their lockers.

Now we have this bike fiasco.

Augmented by the pitiful images of Petrino in a neck brace, his face as red from abrasions as the Razorbacks' jacket he sports—and the hue of his skin, stained with embarrassment.

This isn't a dignified, nor trustworthy image.

I don't have a heaven or hell to place anyone, but I do have a child whom I can decide which collegiate program he'll participate in.

With Petrino at the helm, Arkansas wouldn't be under consideration.