A Razorback Affair

Should Bobby Petrino, head coach of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team, be fired simply for having an affair?

Absolutely not.

Should he be sternly reprimanded and penalized, either through his contract or by some other means, by the university and/or his department?

Absolutely.

Why should Coach Petrino not be fired for having an affair?

Because it's none of our business what he does in the bedroom (or out on the highway in this case) with another individual. Sure, it may be morally wrong to have an affair, but having an extra-marital affair has nothing to do with his job as head coach of the football team. No, it's not a good example to set for his players, his staff, or any future recruits, but in terms of him coaching, the affair does not matter. Sure, many have do and will continue to have a ton of fun talking about it and speculating, but whether or not Coach Petrino has sex and the name of the person are irrelevant.

But there is some dangerous ground that lies beneath the fog of non-full disclosure. And this is the area where Coach Petrino, and potentially his armour Ms. Jessica Dorrell, may find that they lose their jobs. And it is within that obscured area that the fallout from the affair may make it appear that he lost his job because of having an affair. It's in this area that the questions and answers are doing their best to avoid themselves.

The question of "with whom" he had he affair is an issue.
Now the most important part of "with whom" is not how old she is, what she did before, who she is engaged to (but probably not engaged any more), etc. The most important part of "with whom" is the fact that she works directly for Coach Petrino, and she was hired by Coach Petrino himself.

The question of "when did the affair take place" is an issue.
If the affair took place before Coach Petrino hired her, some serious and not-easy questions will need to be answered. Did Coach Petrino hire Ms. Dorrell instead of more qualified and more interested candidates because of their "relationship?" If she was, then there was a serious breach in procedure, and both Coach Petrino and Ms. Dorrell (and anyone else who knew about the affair, if indeed anyone else knew) should be punished by the department and the university. If this breach took place, then this is the most serious charge laid that may cost Coach Petrino and Ms. Dorrell their jobs.

The fact that he lied to his bosses about the details of the incident is an issue.
This is an incredibly grievous offense. Sure, hide the details from the media. Please share the information privately with your family. But oh my goodness don't lie to your bosses when directly asked to provide details about the event. By lying, Coach Petrino broke any trust or goodwill that he had with his superiors, and if he remains his every decision and performance meeting will be questioned and not trusted even if the answer or act is correct. Plus, when he lied he admitted guilt for wrong-doing. What a shame that her (presumably now ex) fiance is also in the sports department at the University of Arkansas as the Razorbacks swimming and diving coach. Now every male staff member with a wife or girlfriend will be giving Petrino the side-eye whenever he passes.

And not only was the trust trompled, his bosses are not incredibly embarrassed. They are embarrassed that the head coach of their football program has had an affair. They are embarrassed that the affair was with someone in the football program who was hired by the affair partner. They are embarrassed that the national spotlight is on the program in a negative way, after last year having the spotlight in such a positive way (finishing the regular season with just two losses to the #1 and #2 teams in the nation). They are embarrassed that this has happened at their university. And they are embarrassed that the media has found out about it before they were able to deal with it internally. So much embarrassment goes such a long way in destroying relationships and jobs/careers.

The fact that he has broken his contract (to varying degrees depending on some of the answers) is an issue.
Coach Petrino may be in violation of the 7-year contract he signed in December 2010. The contract states that the Razorbacks can dismiss Petrino for "engaging in conduct, as solely determined by the university, which is clearly contrary to the character and responsibilities of a person occupying the position of head football coach or which negatively or adversely affects the reputation of the (university's) athletics programs in any way." In other words, if Petrino embarrasses the university in any way or comports himself in a way that may be viewed negatively by anyone with monetary/political/etc. clout at the university, he can be dismissed.

Thus, I think that the university should tread carefully and be painfully clear about why Coach Petrino receives whatever punishments they may mete out to him. Instead of stating that the whole incident is grounds for termination or punishment, the department and the university should make it clear that Coach Petrino is being dismissed for specific acts (ex. lying to superiors, leaving the scene of a crime, hiring Ms. Dorrell while they were having an affair) and not for simply having an affair (which I have stated before is none of our or their business).
 
The fact that he has broken the law (again, to varying degrees depending on some of the answers) is an issue.
Unfortunately for Coach Petrino, he may have also broken secular law when he violated the sacred vows of his marriage and his Bible (assuming they used the standard marriage vows and that he and his family are Christian). One infraction is that he left the scene of the accident. Another more serious law that he may have run afoul of may center around the above question: did Coach Petrino hire Ms. Dorrell because they were having an affair? I'm sure there are other laws in there that he may have violated, but at least he got one thing right: he did not lie to the police about the details of the accident.

In the end, here are some lessons to be learned from Coach Petrino. Some are more snarky than others.
1. Always wear a helmet. That would have taken care of some of the intense road-rash on his face.
2. Don't leave the scene of an accident in which you are involved.
3. Don't lie to your bosses when you are required to notify them of any incidences in which the law and/or safety are involved.
4. Don't have an affair!!!! If your marriage isn't working, call it quits, be honest, communicate, either say yes or say not any more. Don't cheat - it just gets complicated.
5. If you are going to have an affair, you just can't help yourself, or "it just happened" (bullshit excuse), here are some rules that Coach Petrino should take care to follow from now on: don't work with the person with whom you are having an affair; for goodness sakes don't hire the person to work directly for you; if you're in sports/entertainment/politics/religion anything in the public (and thus hyper-moral and yet hypocritical) eye do NOT let the media find out; don't have an affair with someone who is engaged or involved with someone else in your department (for more examples, think about BrAngelina, the Tony Parker and Eva Longoria split, and Woody Allen and his adopted step-daughter); and, perhaps the most difficult rule of all hence repeating it, don't have an affair in the first place (see rule #4 above).

It's such a shame that this has happened after the Razorbacks have done so much and come so far the past few years. In 2010 they appeared in their first BCS bowl ever in the history of the program. And this past year they finished with the only two losses to the eventual #1 and #2 in the nation. That's incredible. It's such a shame that this has happened. It's a shame for Coach Petrino's family, the university, the department, the football program, his staff, his players, and the fans.

Hopefully the university and Coach Petrino will be able to move forward, and hopefully Coach Petrino has taught a constructive, productive lesson to his staff, his players, and those out there currently (or looking forward to) having an affair.

After thought: Coach, you're 51 years old and Ms. Dorrell is 25 years old. What, exactly, did y'all have in common that made y'all think that this was all worth it?

After-after thought: It appears that Ms. Dorrell did not go to the hospital with injuries, but Coach Petrino had significant injuries, including broken ribs, a cracked neck vertebrae, and some serious road rash. Did Ms. Dorrell leap off right before he careened into the ditch? Did she go later? How in the world did she escape injury?! And how in the world did she explain her injuries (if she had any, which she certainly should have given the extent of Coach Petrino's injuries) to her fiance when she got home?! SMH. Come on, Ms. Dorrell, I'm going to need you to do better (in many ways).

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/41397/is-this-a-storm-petrino-can-survive