Sports in brief: Raiders’ Cable won’t be charged
NFL: 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 (Calif.) district attorney Gary Lieberstein said Thursday that the investigation concluded no charges were warranted.
Cable, a former University of Idaho head coach and player, has denied the charges from the beginning. He had no comment after the announcement Thursday.
The alleged attack occurred at the team’s training camp hotel on Aug. 5 in Napa, after Cable called former Eastern Washington University assistant Randy Hanson into a meeting with assistants John Marshall, Lionel Washington and Willie Brown.
Hanson said earlier 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 intervened.
Lieberstein said it was his belief that there was not enough evidence for a jury to convict Cable of any offenses beyond a reasonable doubt.
Lieberstein said interviews with witnesses established that Cable did not punch Hanson or make any verbal threats.
He said the evidence showed that Cable became angry and rushed toward Hanson, but one of the assistants stepped between the coaches.
Cable ran into the other assistant, 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.
Associated Press?