BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — University of Colorado football coach Karl Dorrell apologized Sunday for shoving a photojournalist’s camera following the Buffaloes’ 37-14 loss to Southern California a day earlier.
“I want to apologize for the incident at the end of our game Saturday,” Dorrell said in a statement issued by the school. “We do value the media and the coverage they provide for our program, and this was strictly in the heat of the moment.”
The photojournalist from CBS affiliate KCNC-TV in Denver was filming Dorrell as he trotted off Folsom Field following Colorado’s fourth consecutive loss when the second-year head coach shoved the camera.
“That’s not who I am, and I hope people who have known me through the years do realize that,” Dorrell said in his statement. “I did reach out and spoke directly this morning to the videographer from CBS4 and personally apologized to him.”
Dorrell’s public and personal apologies came a day after his boss, athletic director Rick George apologized on behalf of his head coach several hours after the game.
Tim Wieland, vice president and general manager of the CBS affiliate KCNC-TV in Denver, tweeted late Saturday that he had spoken with George and “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 it didn’t come directly from his head coach.
Dorrell wasn’t asked about the incident nor did he mention it in his postgame news conference. A short video clip of his camera shove was posted on social media a few hours after the game ended.
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. Dorrell won’t have his regular news conference on Monday, but the school said he would be available to reporters after Monday’s practice.
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