Raiders defensive assistant Randy Hanson is a lifelong Raiders fan. And Hanson’s current predicament, flowing from his belief that the current coach of the team he loves broke Hanson’s jaw and threatened to kill him, has not altered Hanson’s point of view.
Frankly, we’re starting to think that Hanson is overdoing it, possibly on the advice of a lawyer who realizes that anything other than unequivocal worship of the silver and black would be used against Hanson once he files a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the franchise that knows a thing or two about navigating the plaintiff’s side of the civil justice system.
Per Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports, Hanson bizarrely has compared the decision of Napa prosecutors not to charge Cable with assault to a perceived bad call in the 1977 AFC Championship between the Raiders and the Broncos.
In that game, Denver running back Rob Lytle appeared to fumble the ball. The Raiders recovered and were headed for an easy touchdown until it was learned that the officials had ruled that Lytle was down before he fumbled.
And so, regarding Thursday’s decision not to prosecute Cable, Hanson says that “it felt like the Lytle fumble all over again.”
Seriously.
“The Raiders would’ve gone to the Super Bowl,” Hanson said. “But they blew the whistle, and all [Oakland fans] could do was shake our heads.”
Hanson also expressed satisfaction that the decision came when it did. “If there’s a silver lining,” he said, “it’s that they got this out of the way on a Thursday, and now they can focus on [playing] the Jets [Sunday]. This is a really important game, and maybe this decision will help them win.”
We’re kind of hoping that this is all an act from Hanson. If it isn’t, the guy really needs to get his priorities straight.
He believes that the coach of the Raiders physically attacked him, and Hanson has said that he literally feared for his life. Hanson thereafter was cast aside by the team, prevented from working for the franchise he supposedly loves while still being paid. Even if he’d been born with a birthmark his forehead that matches the team’s helmet logo, the manner in which he has been treated should have resulted in Hanson setting aside any fanboy tendencies, at least until his situation is fully resolved.
Indeed, if he truly was gratified by the removal of the distraction, then why did he create a distraction in the first place? And if he’s concerned about the team being focused, why does he seem so intent on filing a lawsuit?
We’re not saying he shouldn’t sue. Hanson’s jaw didn’t break itself, and we continue to be troubled by the league’s failure to conduct its own swift and thorough investigation into what appears to be a garden-variety case of workplace violence.
But he can’t profess to still be a die-hard fan at the same time he’s plotting a course of conduct that would create trouble for the team he supposedly loves.
Maybe Hanson truly is able to compartmentalize the two competing and conflicting emotions. The problem is that it’s starting to appear to be grossly contrived at best, and downright pathetic at worst.