Jimmy Lake denies pushing Washington player in sideline altercation

Washington Huskies head football coach Jimmy Lake was seen hitting Washington player Ruperake Fuavai in the helmet before shoving him away on the sidelines on Saturday night. Fuavai was shoving an Oregon player, and Lake came in to seemingly end the altercation.

But Lake is in hot water after the incident. Lake denied “striking” his player, instead saying that he was separating the two players.

“I separated them,” Lake said via Sports Illustrated’s Ben Pickman. “I didn’t strike him, I separated them.”

Lake is in his second season as Washington’s head coach after taking over last season. He has been with the university since 2014, holding multiple roles along the way. Lake has served as Washington’s defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator before becoming the team’s head coach.

Washington’s AD releases statement on Lake incident

Temper were flaring between the two teams on Saturday. Players from both teams had to be held back after the game after getting into it. While Lake denies any wrongdoing on Saturday night, Washington athletic director Jen Cohen released a statement on the incident.

“We are aware of an interaction between Head Coach Jimmy Lake and a student-athlete during the first half of Saturday’s game,” Cohen’s statement read, according to a tweet posted by Christian Caple of The Athletic. “We have high expectations of the conduct of our coaches and we are working to gather more information on this matter.”

Washington hung with Oregon in the first half on Saturday night, but the Ducks eventually ran away with it. Oregon outscored Washington 16-7 in the second half, ultimately winning the game 26-16. The win propels Oregon to 8-1 on the season. Washington, meanwhile, falls to 4-5 overall and 3-3 against Pac-12 opponents.

The Huskies have three games remaining on their regular season schedule. Washington hosts Arizona State next weekend before heading to Colorado in the following week. In the final week of the regular season, Washington hosts Washington State.