Colorado Buffaloes Head Football Coach Karl Dorrell Shoves CBS4 TV Cameraman At Folsom Field
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4/AP) - Karl Dorrell, the head football coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, is under fire for shoving one of CBS4's sports journalists after the team's loss to the USC Trojans. It happened on Saturday afternoon at Folsom Field in Boulder.
things are going well for Buffs football... pic.twitter.com/oD41OS8DkD
— Ryan Greene ???? (@RyanGreeneDNVR) October 2, 2021
In the video captured by CBS4's photographer you can see Dorrell leaving the field and then pushing the camera.
CBS4's photographer has covered sports for 25 years and has captured shots of coaches running on the field hundreds of times. He had the proper credentials through the University of Colorado to be on the field and he did nothing to prompt the coach to react the way he did.
Coach Dorrell sends his apologies to the local journalist who he intercepted after today's game. We treat journalists with respect and apologize for falling short of that today.
— Rick George (@RickGeorgeCU) October 3, 2021
Athletic Director Rick George wrote on Twitter afterwards saying "Coach Dorrell sends his apologies to the local journalist who he intercepted after today's game. We treat journalists with respect and apologize for falling short of that today."
This is unacceptable and unprofessional. A shove like that to a photojournalist carrying a heavy camera, looking thru a viewfinder, can cause him to lose balance and get hurt or damage the equipment. @RickGeorgeCU https://t.co/zNr251cJ6w
— Tim Wieland (@CBS4Tim) October 2, 2021
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.
On Sunday, Dorrell released a statement which reads:
"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 CBS4 and personally apologized to him."
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.
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.
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.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)