Jimmy Lake investigated by Washington for getting physical with player on sidelines

Washington’s 26-16 loss to Oregon on Saturday night in Seattle is turning out to be a disaster for Jimmy Lake.

Lake was ridiculed for his inexplicable decision to punt with his team down by eight and under two minutes left. You had fans and media members, as well as Mario Cristobal, taking shots at him for the same reason.

But now Lake is facing questions over another matter from the game.

The second-year Huskies head coach is being investigated by Washington’s athletic department over a sideline incident where he got physical with one of his players, Ruperake Fuavai.

Jimmy Lake pops Ruperake Fuavai in the helmet and shoves him for getting into it with Jaylon Redd on the sideline pic.twitter.com/7AdSuugGe3

— Ralph Amsden (@ralphamsden) November 7, 2021

Lake seemed to slap Fuavai away after the linebacker got into it with an opponent. Then Lake shoved Fuavai away.

Washington athletic director Jen Cohen said after the game that they are investigating the matter.

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

In his postgame interview, Lake defended himself by saying he was separating the players.

UW coach Jimmy Lake said he did not strike UW player while separating players during a heated confrontation with Oregon players. "I separated them," he said.

— Percy Allen (@percyallen) November 7, 2021

Lake took over as head coach of the Huskies after Chris Petersen stepped aside. The 44-year-old joined Washington as a member of Petersen’s staff in 2014. He became their defensive coordinator in 2018 and took over as head coach for the 2020 season. He went 3-1 in his first season, but the Huskies are 4-5 this season.