It’s a waiting game now.
Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino is on indefinite paid administrative leave until athletic director Jeff Long completes his review of the situation surrounding Petrino’s April 1 motorcycle accident and the aftermath of the accident.
Long placed Petrino on administrative leave Thursday night, hours after an Arkansas State Police report revealed Petrino withheld information that Jessica Dorrell, a 25-year-old UA football department employee, was a passenger on Petrino’s motorcycle.
Petrino said in a statement that he withheld the information about Dorrell to protect “a previous inappropriate relationship from becoming public.” He also said he hoped to “remain the head coach of the Razorbacks” in the statement.
Now Long has to decide Petrino’s future at the university.
“I expect to move very expeditiously in my review of this personnel matter and hope to have a resolution soon,” Long said Thursday. “I certainly don’t have all the answers here tonight, but I have an obligation and a responsibility to obtain the information and then act appropriately on the information.”
Long and the UA have multiple factors to weigh while reviewing the situation surrounding the accident and Petrino’s “inappropriate relationship.”
Petrino’s contract runs through the 2017 season, but stipulates he can be fired or face disciplinary action 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 or UAF’s athletics programs in any way.”
Disciplinary action stipulated in the contract includes suspension without pay, reduction in salary and incentive compensation and the loss or reduction of the amount of any special allowances for unusual expenses.
Petrino’s family released a statement through the university Monday morning that said the accident involved “no other individuals.” Petrino also said “Yeah,” when asked if he was alone on the motorcycle by KFSM Channel 5 News following his Tuesday press conference.
During the press conference, he referred to Dorrell as “a lady” who was at the scene and flagged down a vehicle, but didn’t reveal her name or that she was a passenger on the motorcycle. Dorrell didn’t report any injuries suffered from the crash in the police report.
Petrino and Dorrell told a man passing by not to call 911 and then got in a car and left, it was revealed when the 911 call made after they left was released Friday.
“I’m disappointed that coach Petrino did not share to me when he had the opportunity to the full extent of the accident and who was involved,” Long said. “Certainly when someone isn’t as forthcoming as they should have been, certainly it puts the relationship in a different place.
“Can we overcome that? That’s something we’ve got to work through and see if we can do through the course of this process.”
The state doesn’t have a law prohibiting a state employee from hiring a romantic partner or having a romantic relationship with a subordinate, said Kay Terry, administrator of the state Office of Personnel Management, to the Arkansas News Bureau on Friday.
Petrino could be in violation of the university’s sexual harassment policy outlined in Section 3.6 of the UA staff handbook. The section states “Consensual sexual relationships between faculty and their students or between supervisors and their employees in some instances may result in charges of sexual harassment.”
The section further states that, “Even when both parties have consented to a relationship, it is the faculty member, administrator or supervisor who may be held accountable for unprofessional behavior.”
Dorrell was announced as the new student-athlete development coordinator May 29, just four days before the accident. Her salary is $55,735, the same as Dann Kabala, who had the position prior to Dorrell and left for a job at the University of Pittsburgh.
Prior to working on the football staff, Dorrell served as Razorback Foundation Assistant Director. She played for Arkansas’ women’s volleyball team from 2004-07, earning All-Southeastern Conference honors as a senior.
One factor Long could be waiting to weigh is what is included in Arkansas State Police Capt. Lance King’s summary of his involvement following Petrino’s crash. King was required to write the summary by state police officials and it is expected to be finished in time for it to be “shared with the public early next week”, according to an ASP statement released Friday afternoon.
King and the vehicle that stopped to pick up Petrino and Dorrell at the site of the accident met at a Fayetteville intersection shortly after the accident. King then took Petrino to the Physician’s Specialty Hospital in Fayetteville while Dorrell departed in her own vehicle.
“Captain King has been asked by his supervisor to provide a detailed summary of his involvement with Coach Petrino and other individuals who’ve been identified within the crash investigation,” the ASP statement said.
King’s summary coupled with Long’s interpretation of the UA handbook and input from other university officials could all play roles in his decision on Petrino’s future.
“I don’t know what I’m looking for until I find it,” Long said Thursday. “I don’t know what I’m going to find in the review. Certainly if I found things in the review that would leave me to make a determination, then I’m going to act upon that.”