And after everything that has happened, Karma is real, and it shows no mercy.
According to the article, here are some of Bobby Petrino's bad-Karma acts:
- Leaving the Atlanta Falcons so abruptly that he left notes in the players' lockers instead of giving them the respect and honesty of speaking with them face-to-face in an all-team meeting.
- Cheating on his wife and family.
- Hiring his mistress.
- Giving his mistress a considerable chunk of change (a reported $20,000).
- Lying to his bosses.
- Breaking the hearts of his wife, his family, his players, his staff, and the Razorbacks fans.
- Fornicating with the fiance of a fellow Razorbacks sports coach (her fiance is the Razorbacks swimming and diving coach).
- Riding a motorcycle without a helmet.
And of course Bobby Petrino was not the only transgressor - Ms. Jessica Dorrell (his mistress) should certainly shoulder at least half the blame for many of the acts. She gets an added dose of bad-Karma for cheating on her fiance (to whom she was supposed to be married in June!), her fiance being he swimming and diving coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks. There are no stories about her going to the hospital, but I hope that she got whatever medical care she needed. If Bobby Petrino came away with broken ribs, a cracked neck vertebrae, and serious road rash, I can only imagine how badly she was injured. I hope she's not wandering around hiding from the media instead of going in and getting any medical treatment that she may need. And I hope that her fiance breaks off their engagement, cancels their wedding, and is able to find a healthy way to move on with his life.
Unfortunately, I'm sure there are more transgressions. Yikes.
Here is the article in its entirety:
Arkansas fired coach Bobby Petrino on Tuesday, saying he engaged in reckless behavior that included hiring his mistress and then intentionally misleading his bosses about everything from their relationship to her presence at the motorcycle accident that ultimately cost him his job.
"He made the decision to mislead the public, (and it) adversely affected the university and the football program," athletic director Jeff Long said at an evening news conference, choking up at one point as he discussed telling players the news. There was a "pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior to deceive me."
It was a stunning fall for Petrino, who had built Arkansas into a Southeastern Conference and national power over four seasons, including a 21-5 record the past two years. But Long made it clear that the success on the field was overshadowed by a laundry list of deceptive acts.
The 51-year-old Petrino was injured in an April 1 motorcycle accident. He was put on paid leave last week after admitting he lied about the presence of the 25-year-old employee, Jessica Dorrell, who had been riding with him.
Long said his investigation, which took less than a week, found that Petrino had even given Dorrell $20,000 at one point, though he wouldn't disclose what it was for. He also said Petrino was fired "with cause" -- meaning he will not receive a multimillion-dollar buyout -- and there were no discussions about ways to keep Petrino at Arkansas.
Assistant head coach Taver Johnson had been placed in charge of the program while Petrino was on leave and sources told ESPN.com's Chris Low that Johnson will continue to lead the program. The sources said Long has informed the coaching staff he would like to keep the assistants in place through the rest of spring practice and then open up the coaching search to see what options are available.
"This is a sad day for the University of Arkansas and Razorback sports. After a thorough review, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long has made his decision," Chancellor G. David Gearhart said in a statement. "Mr. Petrino's contract establishes a process by which he may have his termination decision reviewed. Under that process, the review would ultimately come to me for consideration and action."
Petrino finishes his tenure at Arkansas with a 34-17 record in four seasons, leading the Razorbacks to a No. 5 final ranking last season and a Cotton Bowl win over Kansas State.
He did not immediately issue a statement.
The accident left him with four broken ribs, a cracked vertebra in his neck and numerous abrasions on his face. The avid motorcycle rider said the sun and wind caused him to lose control on the windy two-lane highway, about 20 miles southeast of Fayetteville.
What the married father of four failed to mention, both at a news conference and to Long, was the presence of a Dorrell, a former Arkansas volleyball player and Razorback Foundation fundraiser who Petrino had hired to a football-department position just days before the accident.
That revelation was made public when the state police released the accident report. Petrino informed Long of Dorrell's presence 20 minutes before the police released the report to the public, also admitting to what he called a previous inappropriate relationship with Dorrell.
Long placed Petrino on paid leave later that night, saying he was disappointed in Petrino and promising to review the coach's conduct. He said his review found that the relationship between the two had lasted a "significant" amount of time.
As the review continued, the state police released the audio of the 911 call reporting Petrino's accident. It revealed Petrino didn't want to call police following the crash, and a subsequent police report showed he asked police if he was required to give the name of the passenger during the accident.
Petrino was forthcoming about Dorrell's name and presence with police, but only after misleading both Long and the public during his news conference. That led to the school releasing a statement from Petrino's family the day after the accident that said "no other individuals" were involved.
The proved not to be the case and the fracture in trust, along with questions about Dorrell's hiring by Petrino to be the school's student-athlete development coordinator, proved to be too much for Petrino to overcome in Long's eyes.
Petrino took the school to its first BCS bowl game following the 2010 season, losing in the Allstate Sugar Bowl to Ohio State, and improved his win total in every year. Arkansas was 5-7 his first season in 2008, 8-5 the second before finishing 10-3 and 11-2 during his last two seasons.
The coach's tenure with the Razorbacks began under a cloud of national second-guessing following his departure from Atlanta 13 games into the 2007 season. His tenure with the Falcons was the shortest for a non-interim coach since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger.
His departure was so sudden that Petrino left farewell notes in the lockers of the Atlanta players rather than telling them of his resignation in person. He was introduced later that night as the new coach of the Razorbacks, carrying with him a vagabond image after holding 15 jobs for 11 different programs/organizations in 24 seasons.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7798429/arkansas-razorbacks-fire-bobby-petrino-coach
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