There is no more cowardly or despicable act I know of than a man who would raise a hand in anger to a woman or child, and it is absolutely stunning to me that as I pen these thoughts, Tom Cable has not yet been suspended indefinitely as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders.

The only reason I favor his indefinite suspension over his immediate firing is I believe that every individual's right to due process is absolute. But the wealth of evidence against Cable demands some immediate action from Al Davis, Roger Goodell or both.

If you detect a hint of anger in my tone, you are absolutely correct. In acknowledging the claim of his first wife, Sandra, that he was physically abusive, Cable denied that it happened more than once and argued that the one time he admits to, he hit her with an open hand as opposed to a fist, as she claimed. That Cable seems to believe slapping his wife was somehow a lesser offense than punching her tells me he is a coward and a liar and needs to be stopped, and he is absolutely not entitled to the incredible privilege of being a head coach in the NFL while he is being investigated.

Here is what we do know. In 1989, Sandra Cable sought a temporary order of protection against Cable because when she attempted to call the police to stop his abuse, he would rip the phone out of the wall. His second wife, Glenda, who is currently receiving support payments from Cable, has issued a statement through her attorney that Cable was never violent to her or their children. But in court documents related to their 2008 divorce, she claimed he had been verbally and physically abusive to her. A third woman, Marie Lutz, claims he was physically abusive to her on three or four occasions and on Jan. 6, 2009, she ended up being treated in a hospital emergency room and filed a police report claiming it was as a result of Cable attacking her.

So, what are the odds this is all just coincidence, or that other than the one time Cable admits to smacking a lady — which he thinks he should be forgiven for because, after all, he didn't punch her, he just slapped her — Cable could actually be the victim here?

Both the commissioner's office and the Raiders are conducting thorough investigations into the allegations. Commissioner Goodell stomped all over Rush Limbaugh's hopes of owning a team before they ever got off the ground. Knowing what he knows now, how Goodell can allow Cable to continue coaching one is astounding and beyond disappointing. Should Cable eventually prove his innocence, there are a million ways we can all make it up to him.

Then there are Davis and the Raiders. He and his team have become easy targets for media and pundits alike as they've struggled through incredibly difficult times over the past six seasons. And since Al is clearly the boss, there is little doubt he has at least some culpability there. But to me, he will always be one of the greatest owners and minds in NFL history. If you're going to slam him, you cannot do so without also giving him his due for the spot he so clearly earned in the Pro Football Hall of Fame by building one of the game's greatest dynasties and for the critical role he played in the AFL-NFL merger. I have written it here before, proudly, that I consider him a mentor and a treasured friend, and had he not come to our aid when my dad died in 1979, the last 30 years of PFW might never have happened.

The Al Davis I know is a man of tremendous social conscience who values family and respect above all else, and a man who, I believe, would have never hired Cable if he'd known then what we know now. But we know it now, and the clock is ticking. The more time that passes without Cable's indefinite suspension, the less excusable it becomes for both the Raiders and the NFL. If Cable's actions aren't an egregious violation of the NFL's personal-conduct policy, someone has to explain to us what is, and why Cable should be allowed on an NFL field.

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