Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
When can a proud affection for the Florida Gators get you fired?* When you're an Arkansas radio personality sporting a UF hat in a Razorbacks press conference, apparently. Renee Gork, a Florida grad who'd been on her beat less than a year, was coldly chided by Petrino when he spotted her cap in a Saturday media session (video available here). The bizarro-world kindergarten soccer team that is the Arkansas fan base took it from there, and with a flurry of a thousand tiny kicks in tightly bunched formation, Gork was brought low:
Gork went on to deliver her platitudes to an unforgiving internet, writing, "The apology letter was addressed to coach Petrino. I am truly sorry for disrespecting him and his team." And this is where her brief tenure on the job is thrown into stark relief, and that's what makes this all so funny.
Gork's apology is ill-directed. Bobby Petrino doesn't care about Arkansas. Bobby Petrino cares very much that he, personally, should have beaten Urban Meyer last September, and apparently did not care to be reminded of such. Any display that appears to show loyalty to Arkansas on his part should immediately be reexamined for ulterior motives. (Hush, angry Arkansas types. You knew what you were getting when you hired him. Enjoy him while he lasts, and shed no tears when he hitches out of town in the dead of night. He's a surly Mary Poppins unburdened with a human soul, and he shall stay until the wind changes.)
*Unless you're these guys, who, as of press time, still have jobs as far as we know.
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Here is what actually occured...
Originally Posted by Extra Point
If some are going to paint a picture, let’s finish it with ALL the facts….
1. The rule is no credentialed media granted access to either public or private practices are allowed to electronically transmit live updates. Renee Gork was a habitual breaker of said rule with a permanent record for all to see on the Twitter account she set up for work (she had a separate personal Twitter). The UofA had addressed this with her without success.
2. On Twitter and several radio interviews, she claimed she wore a hat because of the “rain storm”. It had not rained a drop in Fayetteville for 7 days. She lives in Bentonville, but as you can see from this website, precipitation for Saturday, August 14th was 0.00". To my knowledge, it’s never rained INSIDE the football complex in Fayetteville.
3. The day she wore the Gator hat, several people asked her to remove it, including players she was covering. She defiantly refused. She has claimed in every interview today she never meant to show disrespect and didn’t realize it was a problem.
4. Per her Facebook wall (now set to private), she started her job on July 20, 2010. Only 19 days later on August 7th, she was complaining on Facebook about having to cover the Razorbacks on Media Day, but said she would be excited to cover the Gators.
5. On Saturday after the press conference incident, she posted on her WORK TWITTER ACCOUNT that if anyone didn’t like her hat, they should buy one and send it to her. She was clearly unapologetic.
6. Only AFTER she was fired on Monday did she post on social media an “apology”. And only AFTER she was fired was she willing to admit she showed poor judgment which is in direct contrast to her defiant weekend social media posts.
6. The radio station manager was on the Dan Patrick Show today. He said wearing the hat was not a primary reason she was fired. He said there were SEVERAL major issues including her public social media complaints about her job and knowingly breaking media rules while on campus. She had quite the track record in less than 30 days of employment.
7. The radio station manager said her firing had NOTHING to do with emails, calls, the inbreds posting at Hogville, or any other fan actions.
8. A co-worker of hers (Ched Carpenter) said wearing the hat had NOTHING to do with her firing.
The late Paul Eells who was tragically killed in a 2006 car accident was the “Voice of the Razorbacks” since 1978. He was an Iowa graduate, was “Voice of the Hawkeyes” and later “Voice of the Commodores” in Nashville. He was dearly loved and respected and it didn’t matter he grew up in Iowa or was not an Arkansas grad (many in our media are not). 99% of Arkansas fans would not have cared if Paul rooted for his alma mater Iowa as long as he didn’t do it while at work.
For those thinking lawsuit, she has no legal standing in an at-will state. Radio reporters is not a protected class in employment law.
I dare anyone to go on your Facebook wall open to public viewing and complain about your job and then draw attention to yourself prompting your employer to read it. Report back how long you last.
She’s either stupid or eaten up with some sick attitude.
She should have been fired earlier, IMO. Too bad she can’t be banned from the business. No doubt she’ll be hired somewhere else soon in a higher position that pays a lot more money.
08-18-2010, 03:23 PM #122
Extra Point
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Re: Reporter wears Gator hat to Petrino new conference and gets fired
This just gets better and better….new information out today…
1. A co-worker told her NOT to wear the hat. She ignored him but claimed in radio interviews yesterday she didn’t know it would be a problem.
2. She went up to Ryan Mallett at practice and asked him, “How do you like my hat?”
Imagine if a reporter attended LSU practice wearing an Ole Miss hat and asked Jordan Jefferson that question.
How ANYONE can defend Renee Gork and criticize the Petrino or the UofA is utterly ridiculous. She is a documented liar whose 15 minutes are up.
by patrick#3 on Aug 26, 2010 8:47 PM EDT reply actions
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