9:13AM
RealClearSports: Raiders Controversy: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
9:13 AMBy Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com
NAPA, Calif. -- So nothing happened. If you don't include a coach with a smashed-up jaw. And a story changing by the day.
But this is wine country, where the Oakland Raiders practice, and why sound like sour grapes? This stuff happens all the time, doesn't it?
It's always something with the Raiders, other than winning. They've had six straight losing seasons, hardly a reflection of that mantra, "Commitment to Excellence.''
Last year the man in charge, Al Davis, fired his coach, Lane Kiffin early on, in effect for insubordination, usually something to be dealt with in the military, not pro football. Then again, these are the Raiders.
Kiffin was replaced by a tough-guy offensive line coach named Tom Cable, who was said to have sent one of his assistants to the hospital two weeks ago with what on Monday night was reported to be a punch but now is described as a shove into a cabinet.
"I wonder,'' mused cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, as curious as anyone, "if we'll be able to get the full story or not.''
Nnamdi wasn't serious. You never get to the bottom of anything with the Raiders, other than the standings. They're the North Korea of sports.
Information is obtained from mysterious sources that hide in the mountains of Pakistan, or maybe Canton, Ohio, and must be interpreted by the State Department to determine the validity.
Secrecy always has been as important to the Raiders as throwing deep. As Cable pointed out about this he-hit-him-no-it-was-an-enraged-sparrow-flying-amok incident, "It's an internal matter.''
Except that a report filed with the Napa police describes an unnamed 41-year-old Raiders assistant being treated for a jaw injury August 5 at Queen of the Valley Hospital, maybe two miles from the team's summer headquarters. The assistant is Randy Hanson, and no, he hasn't been around for a few days.
Seemingly everybody else has. The Raiders on Tuesday and Wednesday scrimmaged their Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, the Niners coming some 100 miles north from their training site in Santa Clara. Dozens of Northern California journalists were in attendance, drawn by the regional confrontation as well as the quest for truth.
When Cable stood up at a podium that had been placed along one sideline, he faced nine television cameras, as many microphones and notepads and tape recorders reaching practically halfway to the Golden Gate Bridge. Presidential press conferences should be as well covered.
The time-consuming introduction involved Cable's announcements of players out with injuries and comments on whether facing the Niners, who the Raiders play Saturday night in a preseason game, was more beneficial than working against teammates. Finally, the issue was raised.
And as quickly dismissed.
"Nothing happened,'' advised Cable. Something certainly was happening at the moment, a couple of dozen journalists looking at each other skeptically.
"Listen,'' said Cable, "If you want to talk about this football team and the players on this football team, I'll talk to you all day. Otherwise I'm not getting into it.''
The NFL is getting to it. League spokesman Greg Aiello said there will be an investigation to determine the facts.
Someone in the organization did concede, "Something happened, but it's being blown out of proportion. It didn't go down the way it's being reported.''
Former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah told Chris Mortensen of ESPN that a "reliable source'' said Hanson broke a facial bone when his cheek hit a cabinet after Cable flipped him out of his chair after Hanson spoke profanely of another Raider assistant, defensive coordinator John Marshall.
Cable hasn't informed the players of anything, and in that don't ask, don't tell ideology of the Raiders, they are not about to pester him for details.
"That's for you guys to talk about,'' said guard Robert Gallery. "I have no idea what happened, if anything happened. I could (sic) care less. I worry about winning games.''
Which, when you lose them season after season, is understandable.
Six years ago, during camp, linebacker Bill Romanowski punched teammate Marcus Williams and shattered Williams' jawbone. After filing a civil suit, Williams was awarded $340,000 in damages. That same season, 2003, a year after the Raiders went to the Super Bowl, head coach Bill Callahan referred to his squad after a losing game as "the dumbest team in America.''
Dumb, smart or in between, the Raiders certainly are the most contentious team in America.
"It's just another day around here,'' said running back Justin Fargas when asked how he is dealing with the latest episode. "Things wouldn't be normal if there wasn't some controversy.''
These days for the Raiders, they are very normal.
As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.
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http://www.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/08/19/raiders_controversy_dont_ask_dont_tell_96455.html
© RealClearSports 2009
Reader Comments (2)
Great column, art. You make the best transition in america from Tiger to tyranny.
This really answered my downside, thanks!