Washington head coach Jimmy Lake facing new accusation of physically assaulting player

After shoving a player in last week’s game against Oregon, Washington head coach Jimmy Lake is facing problems in addition to his current suspension.

Lake is accused of throwing wide receiver Quinten Pounds up against wooden lockers in the locker room on Oct. 12, 2019, according to five eyewitnesses. The alleged altercation occurred during a game against Arizona in Tucson while Lake was the defensive coordinator for the Huskies.

“Lake comes in on just a complete rampage pretty much, picks up Quinten Pounds and throws him into a locker,” an eyewitness said, according to The Seattle Times. “Those lockers there were wooden lockers, and it was violent. It really caught everyone by surprise. It was really unprompted. He just kind of did that and then went on a tangent about how the offense needs to start playing better.”   

Pounds is now a senior on the team. Lake denied the accusation on Friday.

“I absolutely deny anything improper went on at halftime of the University of Arizona game in 2019,” the head coach told the Times. “There were numerous witnesses in the game — from equipment room, to football staff, to strength and conditioning coaches, and no one came to me with concerns after halftime, after the game, never.”

At the time, Lake was in his second year as defensive coordinator and his sixth year at Washington. He was named the head coach just two months after the alleged incident on Dec. 22, 2019 following Chris Petersen’s resignation.

Lake suspended against Arizona State

Lake is currently suspended without pay for the week after shoving linebacker Ruperake Fuavai on the sideline last week. He apologized following the suspension.

“I want to apologize to every member of our team, and in particular to Ruperake Fuavai, for my actions during our game on Saturday,” Lake posted on Twitter. “I also want to apologize to President Cauce and Jen Cohen for putting the university in this position, I fully accept the decision that was made. Our team has a right to expect better than what I displayed on Saturday. And I’m committed to doing just that – being better so our program will reflect all that’s good about being a Washington Husky.”

Lake’s future with Washington remains in question. Fox’s Bruce Feldman joined their pregame show, Big Noon Kickoff, on Saturday as offered a bleak picture of the situation in Seattle.

“I’m hearing that it’s Jimmy Lake that’s in the most danger,” Feldman said. “From what I understand, there is mounting frustration with how he has handled several situations there… There’s real concern that Jimmy Lake has lost that team.”

Washington will host Arizona State on Saturday in Lake’s absence. They are currently 4-5 this season with three Pac-12 losses.