Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

8/18/2010 at 7:36pm

Image by UA Sports Information

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino listens to a question from Renee Gork, a reporter who was fired after wearing a Florida Gators hat to this press conference.

While most questions centered on the Arkansas football team, Razorback Coach Bobby Petrino was asked Wednesday after his team's practice for his reaction to the way his admonishment Saturday of a local radio personality wearing a Florida Gators hat turned into a national story complete with Internet and radio discussion from coast-to-coast.

Renee Gork, who was reporting for The Hog Sports Radio in Northwest Arkansas, was wearing the Florida hat and questioning Petrino in Saturday's press conference following a scrimmage when he said her one question was the last he'd take from her "wearing that [Florida] hat." Razorback fans jumped on the incident on message boards with an outcry about Gork, and on Monday Gork was fired by Hog Sports Radio. That was only the beginning. Suddenly the story went national.

Channel 40/29 in Northwest Arkansas captured footage of Petrino addressing the situation:

"I don't know much about the attention from the national media, but when the incident happened here, we never intended to see it escalate the way that it did. But that kinda got out of our control."

Nationwide, Gork was criticized for her decision to wear an SEC's rivals hat to Arkansas' practice but Petrino was also ripped by major outlet columnists, some who had taken issue with him for leaving the NFL's Atlanta Falcons for Arkansas abruptly in 2007. Arkansas' fanbase was also skewered by columnists over its reaction to a reporter wearing a rival's hat.

It reached a point Tuesday, with some published insuations that Petrino or Arkansas had forced the station to fire Gork, that the Razorback sports information office was forced to release a statement denying any university involvement in her dismissal and only saying that media personnel suggested she avoid practice for a few days while the situation cooled down.

Gork said she apologized to Petrino and the university for what she termed was an innocent mistake in wearing the hat to practice and the press conference.

Petrino and Arkansas lost a controversial 23-20 game to Florida in Gainesville last season, a contest after which the officiating crew working the game was reprimanded and suspended by the Southeastern Conference. Arkansas and Florida are not scheduled to meet this season.

It's fascinating in the 40/29 video to note the amazement with which the news anchors react in learning that most of the sportswriters at Wednesday's press conference wanted to ask about football and not the "hat" controversy.

Tagged: Hog Sports Radio, Florida Gators, hat, Cap, Bobby Petrino, Renee Gork, Arkansas Razorbacks