2 Women Accuse Raiders Coach of Violent Behavior

The former wife of Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable and a recent girlfriend claim Cable has a history of violent behavior toward women, and asked that he seek help for his anger.

Sandy Cable and Marie Lutz said in seperate interviews on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that the first-year head coach physically abused them at various times during their relationships.

Cable's attorney, Donald Yee, said in a statement Sunday that ESPN refused to provide details about the story when the network asked for comment. Yee also questioned the network's motives after waiting until Friday to contact the coach.

"In our view, ESPN has quite purposefully chosen not to provide a fair and balanced story," Yee said. "To us, this represents ambush journalism and utterly fails to meet the standards and practices of responsible journalists."

ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said the network stands by its story.

"We've got nothing to say right now," Raiders senior executive John Hererra said before the Raiders lost 24-16 at San Diego.

Cable acknowledged striking Sandy Cable with an open hand in a statement released to The Associated Press. Cable said the altercation happened more than 20 years ago and was the only time he's ever touched a woman inappropriately.

"During my first marriage, I became aware that my wife Sandy had committed adultery," Cable said in the statement. "I became very angry and slapped her with an open hand. What I did was wrong and I have regretted and felt sorrow about that moment ever since."

Lutz told ESPN that she remembers Cable hitting her "three, four times," and said that she visited his house in January and found another woman there. Lutz said she demanded to meet the woman and that Cable grabbed her by the arm and eventually pushed her out the door.

Cable said that Lutz had come over uninvited, and that he cooperated with an investigation by the Alameda Police Department that cleared him of any wrongdoing.