To recap: Bobby Petrino got into a crash while riding his motorcycle this past week, and is now sporting a neck brace and abrasions on his face. The natural reaction was to feel bad for the poor coach who has done nothing but great things for the Arkansas football program — making it a national contender and recruiting Heisman quality players.
Then came the twist. Because this is college sports — there's always a twist. Petrino had previously stated that he had been alone in the motorcycle when it crashed. Yesterday, details from the police report showed that he had been on the vehicle with recently hired Jessica Dorell — student-athlete development coordinator and former volleyball player at Arkansas.
Lesson no. 1 for Petrino was don't lie about something that can be proven. If you are a public figure make sure the way you stretch the truth can't be proven false by a simple police report or a previous recording of you.
Petrino could have survived an affair, however sordid the details of this one are becoming, with the great work he's done with the program. He would have apologized, maybe gone to sex rehab — the usual treatment. Instead, he decided to lie to his employers and the media.
When it first came out that there was a woman on the bike with him, everyone was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Now, the media is attacking full force and Arkansas has been forced to put him on administrative leave.
The other lesson for Petrino should be that, if you decide to have an affair, it's best to keep your real life and your affair as separate as possible. Do not give your 25-year old mistress a job right out of college to come work in your program.
Now you've had an affair, you've lied to the media, and in addition to all of this you keep giving people ammunition. You claim the relationship is in the past (two days in the past apparently) but even if you say that and your wife forgives you that's still not enough. You’re going to have to fire her.
There is no way hiring a beautiful volleyball player to be your assistant isn't a sign of nepotism. Now that everyone knows you've been sleeping with her? Nice try. Petrino's not only put his career in jeopardy but her job as well. I'm sure this is exactly how Dorell envisioned her first job ending.
