Some may be shocked by allegations that surfaced early this week that Oakland Raiders' Head Coach Tom Cable may have assaulted assistant coach Randy Hanson and broke his jaw. But, according to the diehards who have devoted their lives to the silver and black, most Raiders fans aren’t that surprised.
The team has still not confirmed that it was indeed Cable who pummeled Hanson during an argument on Aug. 5. But the freshman coach could face some serious charges.
Ricky Ricardo, (no, that’s not a typo) owner of Ricky’s sports bar in San Leandro, the epicenter for raucous Raiders fans in the East Bay, said many fans who have visited his bar since the news broke say they’re not willing to jump to conclusions about what Cable did or did not do. But, Ricardo said if it turns out to be true, then it’s all part of the passionate game known as football.
“Its an emotional game,” Ricardo said as he sat in his bar, surrounded by Raiders memorabilia. “It’s a physical game and sometimes things like that happen.”
Ricardo said he’s not condoning violence and he knows both Cable and Hanson believes this is an unfortunate incident.
“They are passionate people about what they do,” Ricardo said. “They care about the Raiders. They care about their jobs. Those things happen on football fields.”
The Raiders are a team that has built its reputation on being renegades with rowdy fans and tough players. The team has had several sad seasons and this might be a little “tough love,” Ricardo said.
That may sound cold, according to Ricardo but “Raiders fans are feeling like ‘Well, whatever it takes.’”
