For reference:
On April 1, 2012, Petrino was involved in a motorcycle crash on
Arkansas Highway 16 near the community of
Crosses. He was riding with former Arkansas All-SEC volleyball player Jessica Dorrell, whom he had hired on March 28 as student-athlete development coordinator for the football program after she served as a fundraiser in the Razorback Foundation. Petrino initially said he was alone on the motorcycle. However, on April 6, just minutes before a police report was to be released showing Dorrell was also aboard, Petrino admitted that Dorrell was not only a passenger, but that he had been conducting an affair with her. Long placed Petrino on indefinite paid administrative leave while he investigated the situation.
According to
The Athletic, shortly after the accident, Larry Henry of
KFSM-TV got a tip from "a lock-down, high-up source" at the university that Petrino was not really alone on the motorcycle. This prompted Henry to collar Petrino after a press conference held after Petrino's release from the hospital and ask him if he was sure he was alone during the accident. Two days after the press conference, Henry learned the police report was about to be released, and that Dorrell was indeed the other passenger. The police investigation revealed that Petrino and Dorrell refused offers to call 911, then flagged down a passing car who drove them to a Fayetteville diner. A state trooper who served as Petrino's game-day police detail drove a badly injured Petrino to the hospital.<a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Petrino#cite_note-Athletic-21"><span>[</span>21<span>]</span></a>
On April 10, Long announced that Petrino had been fired. During Long's investigation, it was discovered that Petrino and Dorrell's relationship was an open secret in the football office. Petrino frequently sent Dorrell gifts, including a previously undisclosed $20,000 cash gift as a Christmas present. Dorrell used the money to help buy a new car. It was also revealed that Dorrell may have received preferential treatment in her hiring on the football staff, as Petrino's relationship with Dorrell was not disclosed and Petrino was on the hiring committee. Long determined that Petrino's attempts to mislead both him and the public about the accident and his relationship with Dorrell were grounds to fire Petrino for cause.<a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Petrino#cite_note-Petrino_fired-2"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a><a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Petrino#cite_note-26"><span>[</span>26<span>]</span></a><a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Petrino#cite_note-27"><span>[</span>27<span>]</span></a><a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Petrino#cite_note-Athletic-21"><span>[</span>21<span>]</span></a> In his formal termination letter to Petrino, Long said that he would have never allowed Dorrell's hiring had Petrino disclosed his relationship with Dorrell, and concluded that this and other lies on Petrino's part were "contrary to the character and responsibilities" of his post, and "negatively and adversely affected the reputation of the University of Arkansas within the State of Arkansas and on a national level."<a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Petrino#cite_note-28"><span>[</span>28<span>]</span></a> Long also determined that the $20,000 payment could expose Arkansas to a sexual harassment suit if Petrino were retained.<a href="
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Petrino#cite_note-29"><span>[</span>29<span>]</span></a>
In the course of hiring Dorrell, according to
Sports Illustrated, Petrino also circumvented university
affirmative action guidelines requiring job postings to be listed for 30 days before interviews could begin. He claimed that he needed an assistant to help him with recruiting right away, allowing him to interview and hire Dorrell 16 days after the job was posted. Dorrell was also the only candidate with no previous experience in a football program, and the only candidate without a master's degree