In response to report from the Detroit News revealing new Lions coach Matt Patricia had been indicted for aggravated sexual assault in 1996, the NFL indicated it will investigate the incident.
According to the report, Patricia, then 21, and a fraternity brother were charged by a Texas grand jury with one count of aggravated sexual assault after allegedly bursting into the hotel room of a 21-year-old woman and taking turns “violently sexually assaulting her” during spring break.
The case was dismissed in 1997 because the alleged victim did want to face the stress of a trial.
On Thursday, Patricia vehemently denied the allegations during a press conference and said he was completely innocent and had been falsely accused of something he did not do.
Matt Patricia reads a statement, as Lions owner Martha Ford, team president Rod Wood, and GM Bob Quinn are here in support of him. pic.twitter.com/pbae1Bjb5i
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) May 10, 2018
Despite the denial and the Lions stated desire to stick with Patricia, the NFL still plans to “review the matter with the club to understand the allegations and what the club has learned,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said via an email to ProFootballTalk.
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, this situation takes on even greater gravity for the NFL.
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