After Washington Huskies head coach Jimmy Lake intervened in an on-field scuffle that spilled onto the sidelines during a game against the University of Oregon Ducks on Saturday, university officials are looking into the incident, and sports enthusiasts are voicing their opinions after the incident was caught on video and circulated on social media.
“Washington head coach Jimmy Lake has been suspended without pay for the Arizona State game,” FOX Sports reporter Bruce Feldman said Monday.
Following a first-half kickoff, Huskies’ redshirt freshman linebacker Ruperake Fuavai got into a shoving and yelling altercation with Duck’s wide receiver Jaylon Redd. Just as referees diffused the situation, Lake appears, running along the sidelines from off-camera.
The video appears to show second-year coach Lake knocking into a referee along the Huskies sideline as he rushed towards the two players. Lake then smacked linebacker Fuavai in the helmet with his right hand, gripping what appears to be playsheet papers. He then gave the player a shove deeper into the sideline, presumably towards the benches, and then off-camera.
ESPN said of the incident:
A television replay showed Lake thrusting his right hand, which was holding a play sheet, toward Fuavai’s helmet. The contact was minimal, and it appeared Lake proceeded to push Fuavai toward the bench.
“I went in to separate them and push them back,” Lake said of the incident, and continued:
After that, we settled down a little bit. That was our deal all week long was, ‘We got to have poise.’ We knew this was going to be a very heated matchup and there was going to be a lot of trash talking. And when we stepped in there, we were glad that a penalty wasn’t thrown on our guys to put us back even further on that kickoff return.
“I separated them. I didn’t strike him. I separated them,” Lake insisted, when asked by reporters if he regretted striking Fuavai.
The fact that emotions were high on Saturday before the Huskies 26-16 loss to Oregon should come as no surprise, especially given that Lake talked some pre-game smack. Last week, in the buildup to Saturday’s game, Lake was asked by reporters if he “considered the University of Oregon a significant rival in football recruiting.” Lake responded, “In our world, we battle more academically prowess teams.” Lake said:
Our battles are really, the schools that we go against are way more, have academic prowess, like the University of Washington — Notre Dame, Stanford, USC. … We go with a lot of battles toe-to-toe all the way to the end with those schools. So I think that’s made up in your [media] world. In our world, we battle more academically prowess teams.
Oregon president Michael Schill responded the next day, not naming Lake. In an article published by the Oregonian titled, “Washington’s Jimmy Lake steps in puddle with his shot at rival Oregon Ducks,” Schill told writer John Canzano:
UW is a wonderful school with a great football history. … I have great respect and affection for its president, its academic and football program and its former exceptional football coach (Chris) Petersen. I look forward to our team meeting theirs on the gridiron this Saturday.
Washington Athletic Director Jen Cohen released a statement within hours of the game, saying:
We are aware of an interaction between head coach Jimmy Lake and a student-athlete during the first half of Saturday’s game,” Cohen said. “We have high expectations of the conduct of our coaches and we are working to gather more information on this matter.
Commenters were split on their opinions of the coach’s move, with some demanding further action and others saying it is not a big deal and happens all the time.
“There isn’t any reason any coach should put there hands on a student player like that, no matter what was happening,” a commenter on Twitter said.
“Perfectly fine what JL did. He slapped the kid on the helmet with his play sheet and was pushing him back. Happens multiple times a game by players and coaches all over the country. Grow a set people,” another Twitter commenter responded.
“Never appropriate for any coach to put his hands on a player… In any sport. Times have changed. This is not football of the 1960s when coaches would grab a players face mask on the sideline. Was the kid wrong? Yes. Was the Coach wrong? Yes. Coaches need act like adults,” argued another.
“Kid clearly wasn’t even fazed by it. The coach was trying to keep him from getting ejected. If he had done this after the kid dropped a pass or something then there would be a story but simply trying to keep him from getting ejected nah,” another said.
“This must be taken seriously. A hit like that can cause SERIOUS and permanent injury. Coach coulda cut his hand, and then it might get infected leading to gangrene and amputation. Or he coulda sprained his wrist hitting that solid piece of plastic. It could happen,” said another.
“Jimmy OBVIOUSLY hits him with the play sheet (a piece of paper). I think he’ll live. Find something else to focus on,” another said.
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