BOULDER, Colo. — University of Colorado athletic director Rick George apologized on behalf of Buffaloes football coach Karl Dorrell, who shoved a photojournalist’s camera while trotting off Folsom Field following a blowout loss to Southern California on Saturday.
“Coach Dorrell sends his apologizes to the local journalist who he intercepted after today’s game,” George tweeted about three hours after the Trojans sent the Buffs to their fourth consecutive loss with a 37-14 rout. “We treat journalists with respect and apologize for falling short of that today.”
Tim Wieland, vice president and general manager of CBS affiliate KCNC-TV in Denver, tweeted, “I just spoke with Rick. I appreciate his genuine concern for our photojournalist and his sincere apology, along with the apology from Coach Dorrell.”
George’s tweeted apology, however, was heavily criticized on social media because the apology didn’t come directly from his head coach. Others derided George for characterizing Dorrell’s actions as an interception.
Dorrell wasn’t asked about the incident nor did he mention it in his postgame news conference. A short video clip was posted on social media a few hours after the game ended.
Dorrell issued a statement Sunday morning saying, “I want to apologize for the incident at the end of our game Saturday. We do value the media and the coverage they provide for our program, and this was strictly in the heat of the moment. That’s not who I am, and I hope people who have known me through the years do realize that. I did reach out and spoke directly this morning to the videographer from CBS-4 and personally apologized to him.”
The Buffs went 4-2 in his first season when half a dozen games were canceled because of the pandemic. The Buffs lost to Texas in the Alamo Bowl.
Dorrell is 5-6 in his two seasons in Boulder. He was hired on Feb. 23, 2020, following Mel Tucker’s abrupt departure to Michigan State. COVID-19 shut down all college sports about three weeks later and it would be 288 days before Dorrell got to run his first practice.
They opened this season with a win over lower-division Northern Colorado but have since lost to Texas A&M, Minnesota and USC at home and Arizona State on the road.
They are off next weekend before hosting Arizona on Oct. 16.
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