Al Davis gives state of the Raiders

(01-18) 18:52 PST Alameda, Calif. (AP) --

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis rarely talks to the media anymore.

So when Davis got the chance at a news conference announcing the hiring of Hue Jackson as his new head coach on Tuesday, he took the opportunity to address a number of issues.

Davis spent a larger portion of a more than 100-minute news conference explaining why he fined former coach Tom Cable $120,000 in the final year of his contract. Davis says he withheld the money from Cable's last six checks because of the strain on the organization from lawsuits involving Cable assaulting a former assistant coach and a former girlfriend.

The suit by former assistant Randy Hanson was kicked out of court and sent to an NFL arbitrator. Davis said that Cable recently settled the suit with former girlfriend Marie Lutz.

"That lawsuit created a tremendous amount of work, stress and turmoil," Davis said. "Tom had been told earlier in his career that he could have been fired without pay for the wrath he brought on the Raider organization."

Cable's agent did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment. Cable has filed a grievance with the NFL to recover the lost wages.

Davis said Cable lied to him when asked if there were any issues in his past that could affect the Raiders. He was also angered by one aspect of Lutz's lawsuit that said Cable brought her on road trips with the team, saying it goes against his way of living and the Raider way.

He said that even though Cable was accused of breaking Hanson's jaw in August 2009, accused of assaulting three women later that year and sued by Lutz last June, he kept him on to coach the 2010 season.

"We had been in turmoil for about a year or two after the initial stuff came out and so I just didn't think we needed another uproar at this particular time," Davis said. "Two roads. You can choose Road A or Road B, either way."

Cable has acknowledged striking his first wife, Sandy Cable, with an open hand. He said the altercation happened more than 20 years ago and was the only time he's ever touched a woman inappropriately. Because that happened before Cable joined the NFL, he was not punished by the league.

Davis said he still does not know what happened in the hotel room at training camp when Hanson had his jaw broken. Hanson accused Cable of throwing him against the wall, causing the left side of Hanson's face to strike a table, then hit Hanson while he was on the floor. Hanson was treated for a fractured jaw and broken teeth. Hanson said Cable was restrained by assistants John Marshall, Willie Brown and Lionel Washington.

Davis said he didn't want to get into the middle of the dispute.

"Can't get the story," Davis said. "You know, it's like Gitmo. Trying to find out, did they waterboard those guys or not? No, really. It's hard to believe. How many guys went in? Four guys went into the room with a guy, the guys comes out with a broken jaw and no one saw it."

On other topics in Davis' first news conference in more than 16 months:

_ Davis took some blame for the Raiders struggles the past eight years when they have failed to post a winning record. "I have made mistakes. Yes, there's no question about it, and you got to have great players. But you also, sometimes, have the players and don't get it done. So, you're saying, should I take some of the blame? I certainly do."

_ He said the team was hurt by the failures of former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell, who was cut last May after being paid more than $39 million for three ineffective seasons. "We had a big investment in this guy. Basically, he's a good person but he's got personal problems, and I decided that it was time that we were not going to fight it anymore."

_ He said he was not pleased with Cable's proclamation that "we're not losers anymore" after the Raiders won the season finale to finish 8-8. "If that's not being a loser in our world, I don't know what it is, come in .500. That's never been my goal."