A house divided: the end of Arkansas' love affair with Coach Petrino

The Razorback Nation will never be the same, it is a house divided! A whole week has gone by and the entire state of Arkansas is still a buzz about the firing of Coach Petrino. As the week progressed, more information was revealed about just how “inappropriate” the relationship between Coach Petrino and the young Ms. Jessica Dorrell was.  Prior to Jeff Long’s announcement that Coach Petrino was fired, Hog fans took to social media to speculate the Coach’s future. Many were disappointed with his behavior but were quick to forgive and forget. Scores of Hog fans took to social media to plead on behalf of the Coach Team save Coach Petrino Facebook page. Some even marched and formed Team save Petrino Rally hoping to convince administrators to retain the Coach. 

                                           
                                              Yes, we know how to spell in Arkansas

Check out this website to get  a different take on the situation. For the most part, many Hog fans love winners more than they hate cheaters. My husband even got de-friended on facebook because he expressed contrary views! 

Alas, it was not meant to be and Arkansas’ love affair with Coach Petrino came to an end. The Hogs are left without a Coach and as many speculate, without a championship in the horizon! Although I don’t condone philandering, for me it was a personnel issue. Jessica Dorrell who is currently on administrative leave, was the Coach’s subordinate. He had influence in her hiring out of 150 applicants, he supplied her with a $20,000.00 and he lied to his boss about the details of his motorcycle crash. If the school retained him, it would have set a bad precedent for employer- employee relationship and would have become a Human Resource nightmare for the school.

 The Coach’s life continues to be laid bare and paraded in the media. They have FOIA’d his phone records and discovered that he was also communicating with another woman. The extent of their communication has not been revealed, but apparently they exchanged numerous texts. For some, the reality and gravity of the situation sunk in when they saw the Coach’s multimillion dollar house on sale (take a virtual tour).

Just as the Razorback fans got over Houston Nutt, they will get over Coach Bobby Petrino. All fans can do is hope that our wonderful and dedicated players show the world that the Razorback spirit can’t be broken. I for one can’t wait for the game day excitement and my tragus itches to hear the sweet words, “LET’S CALL THOSE HOGS!”

Who do you think will lead the Razorbacks to victory?

Whiplash & Backlash: The Coach Bobby Petrino scandal and the Razorback outrage

When the world first heard about Bobby Petrino’s motorcycle accident, people all over the nation expressed their well wishes. Nobody expected to wake up a couple days later to have the rug pulled from under them. When my husband yanked open the shower door to tell me that Coach Petrino was involved in single vehicle motorcycle accident, it took a few explanations for me to understand. Now that new facts have emerged, lives are going to change. Some people are upset that the Coach has been put on administrative leave. But I think that is the best solution for everyone including the Coach, the team and the fans.

 Coach Petrino’s family will have to start the healing cycle. It does not bode well that he had to have an accident for the affair to come to light. His situation was not improved by the fact that he blatantly lied about the parties involved in the crash. One can only speculate what led to the recent events. Perhaps his spouse suspected an affair or maybe she was a dotting wife and did not know. Either way, they will have to decide where to go from here. It could tear them apart or it could test the very fabric of their relationship but leave their relationship in-tact. Coach Petrino will have to work on rebuilding trust with his family.

The administrative leave will allow team members and Hog fans come to terms with their disappointment. Coach Petrino is a highly regarded member of the society and has been looked upon favorably thus far. Young men of the community are entrusted to him by their hopeful parents as an example of what to aspire to be. Perhaps the notion that money and power make people in places of power more susceptible to cheat is true. Many can recall the very recent and public scandals of Tiger Woods, Strauss Kahn, Anthony Weiner and Arnold Schwarzenegger, just to name a few. I just worry about the message being sent to young men at this day and age.

What of the young lady Ms. Jessica Dorrell you ask? Well, from my understanding she was betrothed to be married on June 9^th. I hope for her sake and for her fiancé’s sake they at least postpone the wedding to get professional help. Yes, she is 25 and she made a bad choice by becoming involved with a married man who also turned out to be her boss. I imagine that staying in her current position will not be pleasant. Hopefully she can sort out this mess and move on.

The Hog nation is abuzz with news of Coach Petrino’s indiscretion. It is my hope that all the omitted details have emerged and nothing else will come out of the woodwork. I predict that by tomorrow Twitter, Facebook, ESPN and all the sports networks will be talking about this.

I think a hog fan on the radio said it best this afternoon, in regards to the Coach Bobby Petrino situation…”Go Hogs anyway!”

What are your thoughts on this?

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2012/4/6/2930666/bobby-petrino-suspended-arkansas-fans-reaction/in/2683816
http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2012/4/6/2931427/bobby-petrino-911-call-audio-transcript/in/2683816

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2012/4/6/2931025/bobby-petrino-scandal-police-captain-lance-king

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/18348238/petrino-firing-offense-not-adultery-or-lie-but-putting-arkansas-at-risk