Washington head coach Jimmy Lake issues statement following suspension

The University of Washington’s head coach Jimmy Lake just released this apology after being suspended for Saturday’s upcoming game.

“I want to apologize to every member of our team, and in particular to Ruperake Fuavai, for my actions during our game on Saturday. 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,” said Lake in a statement via Twitter.

The Huskies head coach drew the ire of the college football world after footage showed him aggressively striking the helmet of one of his players. This incident happened in Saturday’s loss to the Oregon Ducks. Washington is 4-5 this season under Lake and 7-6 overall since he replaced Chris Petersen as head coach after the 2019 season.

Lake denied any wrongdoing after Washington’s loss

When Lake was asked about the incident following the game, he denied striking a Washington player. Instead, Lake said that he separated two players.

“I separated them,” Lake said. “I didn’t strike him, I separated them.”

In the video of the incident, Lake can be seen hitting redshirt freshman linebacker Ruperake Fuavai on the helmet. Lake then shoves him back onto the sideline after Fuavai was getting into it with Oregon wide receiver Jaylon Redd.

At the time of the incident, Cohen released a statement saying that the university was working to gather more information.

“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. “We have high expectations of the conduct of our coaches and we are working to gather more information on this matter.”

Lake took over as Washington’s head coach after six years as an assistant. He replaced Chris Peterson in 2020, two years after he became the team’s defensive coordinator. Washington started last year 3-0 before suffering a home loss against Stanford. While the Huskies entered the year with high expectations, they are just 4-5 through ten weeks. Lake’s head coaching record with Washington is now 7-6.

Washington fired offensive coordinator John Donovan on Sunday. The Huskies face off against Arizona State at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday. Washington will then travel to take on Colorado next week before wrapping up the year at home against Washington State.