Lions' Matt Patricia defends himself after alleged sexual assault case surfaces

Detroit Lions Coach Matt Patricia strongly defended himself Thursday against what he said were false allegations of sexual assault, in a case that was resolved 21 years ago but resurfaced in a newspaper report Wednesday night.

Patricia, a longtime New England Patriots assistant three months into his first head coaching job, said Thursday that the alleged incident never came up in any job interviews and that he was never asked about it, by the Lions or by previous employers inside and outside of the NFL. He told reporters that he has never been afraid to answer questions about the matter, that he has "always been truthful about it when it was addressed" and that "truth is on my side."

The NFL confirmed Thursday it would review the matter with the Lions.

Robert Snell, a reporter for the Detroit News, informed the Lions about the 1996 incident, which allegedly took place during a spring break trip to Texas when Patricia and then-teammate Greg Dietrich were on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute football team. Patricia and Dietrich were indicted in August 1996, but the case was dismissed five months later.

"As someone who was falsely accused of this very serious charge over 22 years ago, and never given the opportunity to defend myself and clear my name, I find it incredibly unfair, disappointing, and frustrating that this story would resurface now with the only purpose being to damage my character and reputation," Patricia, 43, said in a statement that was released by the team Wednesday night. "I firmly maintain my innocence, as I have always done."

Patricia told reporters Thursday that he spoke with his players about the matter earlier in the day, and that he remained "100 percent the head coach of the Detroit Lions." He declined to discuss specifics from the alleged incident.

"I'm here to defend my honor and clear my name," he said Thursday, reading from a statement before taking questions. Later in the statement, Patricia said he had "lived with the mental torture of a situation where facts can be completely ignored or misrepresented with disregard for the consequences and pain it would create for another person. I find it unfair and upsetting that someone would bring this claim up over two decades later for the sole purpose of hurting my family, my friends and this organization with the intention of trying to damage my character and credibility. I was innocent then and I am innocent now. Let me be clear. My priorities remain the same: to move forward, to strive to be the best coach, teacher and man that I can possibly be."

The NFL, meantime, "will review the matter with the club," league spokesman Brian McCarthy wrote in an email, "to understand the allegations and what the club has learned."

That it took a newspaper report to bring the issue to light raises questions about the Lions' vetting process. Documents concerning the case were readily available with a basic search, and it was clear for weeks after the Lions' season ended that Patricia was a prime candidate for their head coaching job - as well as a contender for others. Patricia is a longtime fixture in the NFL, starting as an assistant coach with the Patriots in 2004, and rising to New England's defensive coordinator in 2012. He was hired by the Lions the day after New England's Super Bowl loss.

The Lions reacted quickly to the News story, issuing a joint statement Wednesday night in which owner Martha Firestone Ford, General Manager Bob Quinn, and team president Rod Wood said that there had been no settlement or confidentiality agreement in connection with the alleged incident.

"Responding to a published report this evening from the Detroit News, the Detroit Lions are aware that a criminal charge involving sexual assault was brought against Matt Patricia in 1996," the statement said. "Matt was 21 at the time and on spring break in Texas. The charge was dismissed by the prosecutor at the request of the complaining individual prior to trial. As a result, Coach Patricia never had the opportunity to present his case or clear his name publicly in a court of law. He has denied that there was any factual basis for the charge. There was no settlement agreement with the complaining individual, no money exchanged hands and there was no confidentiality agreement. In discussions today with Lions management, the reporter involved acknowledged that the allegations have not been substantiated.

"As an organization, the Detroit Lions take allegations regarding sexual assault or harassment seriously. Coach Patricia was the subject of a standard preemployment background check which did not disclose this issue. We have spoken to Coach Patricia about this at length as well as the attorney who represented him at the time. Based upon everything we have learned, we believe and have accepted Coach Patricia's explanation and we will continue to support him. We will continue to work with our players and the NFL to further awareness of and protections for those individuals who are the victims of sexual assault or violence."

Wood told the News that the team had done a thorough background check, something teams have taken more seriously since the NFL's domestic violence scandal of 2014 and in the #MeToo era. "Our background check was limited to employment matters only," Wood said, "and does not disclose any criminal matters that don't result in a conviction or a plea agreement."

Patricia was an offensive lineman and guard on the RPI team; Dietrich was a team captain. The teammates, who were members of Theta Chi fraternity, were in South Padre Island, just north of the border with Mexico, when the alleged attack occurred.

The News reported that the police report was discarded, and that several figures involved said they could not recall the case - not the police chief, lieutenant, grand jury forewoman, prosecutor, assistant prosecutor or defense attorneys. The alleged victim did not respond to attempts by prosecutors to contact her, and other details remain unclear. The victim did not feel "she can face the pressures or stress of a trial," according to a handwritten document bearing the signature of Cameron County Assistant District Attorney Jacqueline Reynolds-Church in a Jan. 28, 1997, motion to dismiss the case.

Patricia said "the process worked and the case was dismissed," but that he never was able to defend himself, and that the episode was "very traumatic to me."

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