The Oakland Raiders said they plan to have a "serious evaluation" into allegations that head coach Tom Cable assaulted women during past relationships.
The allegations came to light during an episode of ESPN's "Outside the Lines" on Sunday. In interviews with the network, Sandy Cable and Marie Lutz allege Cable hit them during relationships.
Lutz, who was Cable's girlfriend as recently as this January, told the network she was hit three or four times.
Sandy Cable, who was Tom's first wife, told ESPN the Raiders coach was physically abusive for much of the time during their six-year marriage. That included an incident in 1988 when Sandy Cable told ESPN that Tom punched her in the jaw.
"In conjunction with the league office, we will undertake a serious evaluation of this matter," the Raiders said in a statement Monday. "We wish to be clear that we do not in any way condone or accept actions such as those alleged. There have been occasions on which we have dismissed Raider employees for having engaged in inappropriate conduct. For reasons of privacy, we kept the basis for those dismissals confidential."
Cable declined comment Monday during the team's regularly-scheduled news conference, but added he hadn't spoken to team owner Al Davis or NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about the situation.
This is the second controversy within the last couple of months surrounding Cable and his alleged off-the-field aggression. On October 22, the Napa County district attorney's office announced it would not file criminal charges against Cable for allegedly assaulting an assistant coach.
Cable was accused of attacking assistant Randy Hanson at a meeting while the team was staying at the hotel during training camp. Hanson was treated at a local hospital for a fractured jaw, although he elected not to say who assaulted him when questioned by authorities.
However, Hanson told at least one national media outlet that Cable came from behind and knocked him out of a chair. That's when Hanson claimed he broke his jaw.
However, the DA's office said other coaches stepped in during an altercation and there was no direct contact between Cable and Hanson.
The Raiders are 2-6 this season under the 44-year-old Cable, who took over the job as head coach in the middle of the 2008 season. Oakland has a bye this week and doesn't play until November 15 at home against Kansas City.
Last year, the Raiders fired Lane Kiffin as their head coach during the bye week.
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