Aggression

In early August, a story came out of Napa, CA about the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, Tom Cable, assaulting and breaking the jaw of one of his defensive coaches. After a lengthy investigation the Napa District Attorney decided not to press assault and battery charges against Cable, citing that the case would not be worth pursuing. During a period of turmoil in the NFL with news of players in legal trouble, the one constant seemed to be that coaches were the leading example. But in this instance the coach stooped down to a lower level and assaulted his assistant and physically hurting him.

The story would have died right there, becoming a side story and the butt of some jokes. But just recently, ESPN broke a story saying that ex-girlfriends and ex-wives of Cable had said they were beaten and physically abused by him. This crime, if true, is something that socially is unacceptable to most and also shows a prior history of violence that could have been helpful in the court case for the assault as a showing a history of violence.

Tom Cable's team, the Oakland Raiders, are infamous around the NFL for being the most dysfunctional organization in football if not in American sports. With a history of the kicker, Sebastian Janikowki, getting in trouble with the law, and now the head coach, trouble seems to be coming from the places you would least likely believe. But being the coach of the Raiders, and therefore becoming exposed to the nation, was the downfall for Cable in the end.

There is no public knowledge whether or not the DA was looking into the past history of Cable beating his ex-wives and girlfriends. But since it was such a large story to the NFL, the journalists at ESPN decided to look into Cable's past, digging up the stories of Cable's past violence. Now the NFL head office is looking into these claims which could lead to Cable being suspended or being fired. Somebody with a job out of the public spotlight who had assault charges against them dropped would never be investigated. They would just continue on with their lives. So with the fame and glory with being in the public spotlight comes the price that your past is not private at all.