Washington suspends football coach Jimmy Lake one game for sideline incident
Washington has suspended coach Jimmy Lake one game without pay after a sideline incident involving a player during Saturday's loss to Oregon, the school said on Monday.
In video captured by the ABC broadcast, Lake appeared to strike redshirt freshman linebacker Ruperake Fuavai in the facemask after Fuavai and several players from both teams tussled along the Washington sideline.
“Our staff has spent the last 24-plus hours reviewing video of the incident, as well as speaking with Coach Lake, the involved student-athlete and several other student-athletes and members of the staff, and I have made the decision to suspend Coach Lake for next Saturday’s game against Arizona State,” Washington athletics director Jen Cohen said in a statement.
While the school did not find that Lake's "actions were intentional or deliberate," Cohen said, "we can have no tolerance for a coach interacting with a student in the manner Coach Lake did. We have high expectations of conduct for our coaches, and we will not shy away from those expectations.”
RE-RANK: Oklahoma moves up to No. 4, big programs fall in 1-130
OVERREACTIONS: Big Ten East winner will make playoff, Texas will be back
HIGHS AND LOWS: Winners and loser from Week 10 in college football
Lake will miss this weekend's game against Arizona State and be barred from all football-related activities, the school said. The suspension will end on Sunday, Nov 14. In the interim, defensive coordinator Bob Gregory will serve as the acting head coach.
Asked about the incident following the rivalry loss to Oregon, Lake said his goal was to "separate them and push them back."
"I separated them," he said. "I didn't strike him. I separated them."
The sideline incident and suspension comes days after Lake was scrutinized for comments made about the recruiting against Oregon.
In response to a question about whether the two rivals compete for the same prospects, Lake dismissed Oregon's academic credentials and said the Huskies "battle more academically prowess teams."
After winning on Saturday in poor conditions, Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said he was "proud of the way our guys came over and showed their prowess in the inclement weather."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Washington's Jimmy Lake suspended one game after player incident
