Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable and a recent girlfriend claim Cable has
a history of violent behavior toward women, and asked that he seek help
for his anger.
Sandy Cable and Marie Lutz said in
seperate interviews on ESPN’s Outside the Lines that the first-year
head coach physically abused them at various times during their
relationships.
Cable’s attorney, Donald Yee, said in
a statement Sunday that ESPN refused to provide details about the story
when the network asked for comment. Yee also questioned the network’s
motives after waiting until Friday to contact the coach.
“In our view, ESPN has quite
purposefully chosen not to provide a fair and balanced story,” Yee
said. “To us, this represents ambush journalism and utterly fails to
meet the standards and practices of responsible journalists.”
ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said the network stands by its story.
“We’ve got nothing to say right now,” Raiders senior executive John Hererra said before the Raiders lost 24-16 at San Diego.
Cable acknowledged striking Sandy
Cable with an open hand in a statement released to The Associated
Press. Cable said the altercation happened more than 20 years ago and
was the only time he’s ever touched a woman inappropriately.
“During my first marriage, I became
aware that my wife Sandy had committed adultery,” Cable said in the
statement. “I became very angry and slapped her with an open hand. What
I did was wrong and I have regretted and felt sorrow about that moment
ever since.”
Lutz told ESPN that she remembers
Cable hitting her “three, four times,” and said that she visited his
house in January and found another woman there. Lutz said she demanded
to meet the woman and that Cable grabbed her by the arm and eventually
pushed her out the door.
Cable said that Lutz had come over
uninvited, and that he cooperated with an investigation by the Alameda
Police Department that cleared him of any wrongdoing.
“I never battered her in any way,”
Cable said. “It is most unfortunate that ESPN has given Ms. Lutz this
forum to revisit this incident when I did nothing wrong and further
chose not to provide me with an appropriate opportunity to respond.”
The 44-year-old Cable, a former
Raiders offensive line coach, took over as head coach when Lane Kiffin
was fired four weeks into the 2008 season.
His on-field struggles as he tries
to rebuild the once-proud franchise have been mirrored by off-field
problems, including an argument in August in which Oakland assistant
coach Randy Hanson accused Cable of breaking his jaw during a coaches
meeting.
Napa County district attorney Gary Lieberstein decided not to pursue charges last month.
The NFL had been considering whether
to discipline Cable under the league’s personal conduct policy, which
specifically identifies workplace violence. League spokesman Greg
Aiello said the revelations on the Outside the Lines report would
also be considered.
“We will carefully review these
matters in conjunction with the Raiders and consistent with our
personal conduct policy,” Aiello said.