As the Detroit Lions dealt with the fallout from Wednesday’s revelation in a published report that the team’s new head coach, Matt Patricia, was accused of sexual assault as a college student in 1996, current and former NFL executives said they were surprised that the Lions said they were unaware of the incident before hiring Patricia in February.
“Anything that was a public record, we’d know about,” a former executive for multiple NFL teams said. “We’d know about anything that was reported in the media. How you would not know about a public record, I don’t know.”
The former executive, who like others contacted about the Lions’ situation is familiar with the process by which coaches are vetted and hired, said he had no firsthand knowledge of the circumstances of Patricia’s hiring and spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.
[Lions’ Matt Patricia defends himself after sexual assault allegation from 1996 is revealed]
According to multiple reports, documents regarding the case were available via an online records search. But the Lions said they conducted a background search before hiring Patricia that did not reveal the incident, which was reported Wednesday by the Detroit News.
“That’s something that should be known and considered,” a current NFL executive said. “I’m not at all saying that it disqualifies him [from being hired]. But it’s something that shouldn’t come up later as a surprise to you. That’s what the process is for.”
The league said it would look into the revelation.
“We will review the matter with the club to understand the allegations and what the club has learned,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a written statement.
The accusation was made by a woman while Patricia, then a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was on spring break at South Padre Island, Texas. Patricia and a friend, Greg Dietrich, were indicted by a grand jury of aggravated sexual assault. But the case was dismissed without going to trial. The accuser did not respond to prosecutors’ attempts to contact her and reportedly did not feel that she could withstand the pressures of the case being in court.
Patricia denied the allegations in a written statement released Wednesday by the Lions.
“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 said. “I firmly maintain my innocence, as I have always done.
“I would never condone any of the behavior that was alleged and will always respect and protect the rights of anyone who has been harassed or is the victim of violence. My priorities remain the same — to move forward and strive to be the best coach, teacher, and man that I can possibly be.”
The Lions expressed support for Patricia in a joint statement by owner Martha Firestone Ford, General Manager Bob Quinn and Rod Wood, the team’s president.
The Lions said they were “aware that a criminal charge involving sexual assault was brought against Matt Patricia in 1996. 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 pre-employment background check that 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.”
The Lions hired Patricia, formerly the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, following the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Patricia had been regarded as the favorite for the job in part because of his connection to Quinn, a former Patriots executive.
Wood, the Lions’ president, told the Detroit News: “Our background check was limited to employment matters only and does not disclose any criminal matters that don’t result in a conviction or a plea agreement.”
The team’s lack of knowledge about the incident in Patricia’s past is being contrasted by some observers to the heavy scrutiny given to players’ backgrounds, particularly when they are being evaluated by teams before entering the league via the NFL draft. A player’s standing on a team’s draft board can fall if a team finds an incident in a player’s past; a player can be removed entirely from a team’s draft board over concerns about a serious incident.
“You’re talking about a high-profile employee when you’re talking about a head coach,” the current NFL executive said. “The level of scrutiny should be at least the same as it is for a player.”
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