Other Porter
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« on: November 02, 2009, 12:56:05 PM » |
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From ESPN;
Two women, including his former wife and a recent girlfriend, say that Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable has a history of violent behavior toward women.
In separate interviews with ESPN's "Outside the Lines," Sandy Cable and Marie Lutz say that Cable hit them during relationships dating back more than 20 years.
Cable's alleged temper has been in the news since August, when Oakland assistant coach Randy Hanson accused Cable of breaking his jaw during an altercation in a coaches meeting.
On Oct. 22, Napa County district attorney Gary Lieberstein said he would not pursue charges against Cable, citing inconsistencies in Hanson's story that were not corroborated by the three assistants in the room at the time.
But the two women interviewed by "Outside The Lines" say that Cable, in his first full season as the Raiders' head coach, physically abused them at various times during their relationships.
In 1989, Sandy Cable sought a temporary order of protection, which said, in part, "On two occasions, one back in '86 and the other in '88, he hit me. The second time in the face, however on attempts to call law enforcement, my husband would rip the phone out of the wall."
A third woman, Cable's second wife Glenda, said in documents related to the couple's 2008 divorce that "in the past he has been physically and verbally abusive to me." Glenda and Tom Cable were married for 17 years. She declined to speak to "Outside The Lines", but is currently receiving support payments from Cable.
Glenda Cable's attorney on Saturday issued a statement to OTL which contradicted the statements in the divorce documents.
"I have known Tom Cable for more than 20 years, including 17 years of marriage," Glenda Cable said in the statement. "Throughout the time I have known him, Tom has never been violent to me or our children. I chose not to speak to the media before now to protect my privacy and that of my children. However, I am very troubled by what is being claimed by others and I felt compelled to speak out about my own lengthy experience with Tom."
Lutz, who dated Cable as recently as January 2009, said she remembers Cable hitting her "three, four times." She described a scene in a car after they left a restaurant where "[Cable] just got so angry I could not recognize him."
Last Jan. 6, Lutz said she came to Cable's house early in the morning and found another woman there. According to a police report from Alameda, Calif., Lutz became "very upset" and "demanded to meet the woman." Lutz told police that after an altercation, Cable "grabbed her by the left arm, causing her to fall to the ground" and "eventually pick[ed] her up and pushed her out the front door."
Lutz went to the emergency room and was treated for back pain and a contusion. Lutz also told police Cable had grabbed her by the neck several months earlier.
She did not press charges with any police jurisdictions.
Cable remarried in May, according to a statement issued on Carol Cable's behalf by Tom Cable's attorney. In the statement, Carol Cable said she was the woman in Cable's house the morning of Jan. 6 when Lutz showed up unannounced. Even though Carol Cable told Alameda police that she did not see Lutz that morning, according to a police report, Carol Cable now says she heard her getting angry.
"I was present at Tom's house when Marie Lutz came to the house in January of this year," her statement reads, in part. "At approximately 5 a.m., we heard someone pounding very loudly on the front door and ringing the doorbell over and over again.
"When Tom opened the door, Ms. Lutz told him she needed to talk to him, that she needed his help, and begged him to let her into the house," the statement said. "After she entered the house, the two of them had a verbal exchange. At no time did Tom commit any act of violence toward her. After not getting what she wanted from Tom, Ms. Lutz screamed at Tom 'I am going to ruin your [expletive deleted] life and I am going to ruin your [expletive deleted] career if it is the last thing I ever do.' "
Sandy Cable told OTL that she called the police when she was married to him, but she didn't receive any support from local law enforcement officers in Idaho, where they lived. "I was quite young, didn't understand the system," she said. "This was prior to domestic abuse being a big issue ... before mandatory arrest laws."
Sandy Cable said that, when she and Tom Cable broke up, she suggested counseling. "That angered him even further," she said.
Through his attorneys, Cable declined to comment earlier. On Sunday, he released a statement through his agent and attorney Donald Yee, saying "on only one occasion in my life have I ever touched a woman inappropriately."
"More than 20 years ago, during my first marriage, I became aware that my wife Sandy had committed adultery. 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," Cable said in his statement. " ... The incident involving Ms. Lutz, in which she came to my home uninvited, was fully investigated by the Alameda Police Department and I cooperated fully with that investigation. I never battered her in any way. The police concluded, correctly, that I had done nothing wrong and that was the end of the matter."
Sandy Cable followed up her former husband's statement with her own Sunday, saying, "He constantly made accusations throughout the relationship. There was never any infidelity on my part. And he did not slap me, he punched me."
After Sunday's game, Cable was asked if these off-field issues wear on him.
"Who knows, maybe they're tied together," Cable said. "You know that's really all I can say about it. Like I said, I gave an earlier statement that was released and I'm going to stand by it."
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 issued a statement Sunday saying the NFL would review the matters "in conjunction with the Raiders and consistent with our personal conduct policy."
The Raiders had no comment before Sunday's game.
"We've got nothing to say right now," Raiders senior executive John Hererra said.
Cable, 44, was the Raiders' offensive line coach in 2007-08 but took over as head coach when Lane Kiffin was fired four weeks into the 2008 season.
He broke into the NFL in 2007 as an offensive line coach with the Atlanta Falcons. Cable coached at eight universities between 1987 and 2005, including four seasons as head coach at the University of Idaho.
Cable had been accused of assaulting and threatening to kill Hanson at a meeting at the team's training camp hotel in Napa, Calif., on Aug. 5. Hanson was treated for a broken jaw following the incident.
Hanson reportedly did not want to press charges when he went to the hospital, but officials contacted local authorities.
When interviewed, Raiders assistant coaches John Marshall, Lionel Washington and Willie Brown did not back Hanson's version of events, telling investigators that Cable did not punch Hanson or make any verbal threats.
Lieberstein, in declining to prosecute Cable, said the coaches told police that Cable became angry and rushed toward Hanson, but Washington stepped between the two. Cable ran into Washington, who bumped into Hanson and knocked him out of his chair. The witnesses also told authorities that Cable then grabbed Hanson by the shirt but never struck or threatened him.
Why are Sandy Cable and Lutz talking now? Sandy Cable told "Outside the Lines" she spoke up "because it continues to happen."
Lutz said she wants Cable to get help for his anger. "This is the reason why I'm here now," Lutz said.
Information from ESPN reporter Colleen Dominguez and The Associated Press was included in this report. Paula Lavigne, a reporter for ESPN's Enterprise Unit, also contributed.
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