NAPA, Calif. — Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable won’t face charges after being investigated over allegations that he assaulted one of his assistants, ending a two-month saga that was a cloud over the team’s season.
Napa County district attorney Gary Lieberstein said Thursday that the investigation concluded no charges were warranted.
“Our duty is to do the right thing for the right reasons,” Lieberstein said. “Under the facts and circumstances of this case, it would be a miscarriage of justice to pursue criminal charges, and we will not ask our citizens to give up their valuable time for jury duty, nor will we allow our criminal justice system to be compromised.”
Cable has denied the charges from the beginning and said shortly before the district attorney’s announcement that he trusted in the legal system. Cable said he does not intend to speak to the media again until Friday.
“The Raider organization waited patiently for a comprehensive legal process to conclude and now this matter has been resolved,” Raiders spokesman Mike Taylor said. “Our focus has been and remains on the New York Jets.”
The alleged attack occurred at the team’s training camp hotel Aug. 5 in Napa, after Cable called Randy Hanson into a meeting with defensive coordinator John Marshall and defensive backs coaches Lionel Washington and Willie Brown.
Hanson told Yahoo! Sports this month that Cable came up from behind him and knocked him out of his chair. Hanson said he broke his jaw and cracked two teeth after hitting a table. Hanson also alleged that Cable threatened to kill him before the other coaches pulled him away.
Footnotes.
Jets coach Rex Ryan has benched safety James Ihedigbo and linebacker Marques Murrell for the their next game because he thought they took things too far by throwing punches at Buffalo’s Derek Fine during a 16-13 overtime loss last weekend.
• A Nevada judge denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of raping a woman at a hotel-casino in Lake Tahoe.
• Steelers safety Troy Polamalu didn’t practice for the second straight day while he heals from a left knee injury.
Polamalu is not believed to have had a setback in his rehabilitation, and he’s expected to play Sunday against Minnesota.
• Colts receiver Anthony Gonzalez is nearly ready to return to practice.
Gonzalez has been out since spraining ligaments in his right knee during a season- opening win over Jacksonville. The Associated Press
