Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia stood at a podium, vehemently denying that he sexually assaulted a woman on a spring break trip in 1996.
"I'm here to defend my honor and clear my name," Patricia said, reading from a prepared script. "Twenty-two years ago, I was falsely accused of very serious allegations. There were claims made about me that never happened."
Patricia was indicted by a grand jury in 1996 on charges of aggravated sexual assault during a spring break trip at South Padre Island when he was in his 20s, but the charges were dropped when the alleged victim declined to testify.
Across the room, three members of the Lions front office sat in chairs, in a clear, unified, strong showing of support of their first-year coach.
Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford stared straight ahead, wearing dark sunglasses. Her presence spoke volumes. She is still behind Patricia.
Team president Rod Wood sat in the middle, occasionally nodding his head subtly in agreement, as Patricia expressed his outrage.
And Lions general manager Bob Quinn glanced around the room without showing emotion. Patricia is his guy. They have known each other for years.
Clearly, members of the front office made a huge statement: They are behind this new coach. They have doubled down on him. Even if they look foolish for not knowing about this situation before they hired him.
This is an organization that turns over every rock when researching potential draft picks, and it didn't know this before hiring its new coach?
"We have spoken to Coach Patricia about this at length as well as the attorney who represented him at the time," the three said in a joint statement released by the Lions on Wednesday night. "Based upon everything we have learned, we believe and have accepted Coach Patricia's explanation and we will continue to support him."
There is plenty of wiggle room in that statement, if new facts become available.
But it also left several questions unanswered: Have the Lions tried to reach the alleged victim? Have they tried to get records from Patricia's lawyer? Has this spurred them to do a more thorough, complete search of Patricia's background?
The NFL told the Free Press on Thursday morning that it will look into the allegations. "We will review the matter with the club to understand the allegations and what the club has learned," league spokesman Brian McCarthy wrote in a statement.
There is only one thing we know for certain: The Lions should have known this before Patricia was hired. It took Deadspin 30 seconds to find it using an online tool that searches legal records. I have also used that tool several times throughout my career, while doing investigative reporting. It's simple. You plug in a name and cases pop up. You can find everything from old lawsuits to court records.
It's stunning, in this age, that this case has never come to light.
But the Lions aren't alone. The New England Patriots say they didn't know about the indictment either. And Patricia has been in the public eye for years. There have been countless profiles written about him and he has had several interviews for jobs and said it has never come up.
"It has never been an issue," he said.
So even though the Lions look foolish right now, we all look foolish for not knowing _ the media, the NFL and the Lions.
What else do we know about this situation, for certain?
It's a murky, complicated, multilayered situation.
For now, all we have is Patricia's side of the story.
Clearly, there is another side of the story, enough to make a grand jury issue an indictment.
This story comes to light when society is finally taking this issue serious.
Does that make him guilty? No.
Many victims of sexual violence struggle in silence. Many sexual crimes do not end with criminal charges.
Does that make him guilty? No.
Patricia was not tried.
Does that mean he's innocent?
In the eyes of the law, yes it does.
In the eyes of public opinion? That's where it gets tricky. There is no presumption of innocence in the court of public opinion, not in the age of hot takes and screaming tweets and knee-jerk reactions.
But it's simply unfair to come to a conclusion without knowing the entire story.
Some will see a sex headline and assume Patricia was guilty, which is irresponsible and unfair.
Some will learn he was not prosecuted and believe it was a false claim, which is also unfair.
It is dangerous to leap to a conclusion, either way, without knowing all of the facts.
"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," Patricia said. "I was innocent then and I am innocent now. Let me be clear, 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 were faced with several choices:
1. Back him strongly, which is what they did.
2. Fire him, although that would have been unfair, considering the case was dropped. He was not found guilty.
3. Give him a cautious, lukewarm endorsement, which would have created an incredibly difficult situation.
4. Oh, and fire whoever did the background search, which I assume has already happened.
Patricia said he addressed the situation with his team, trying to make it a learning moment.
"I talked to the team today and I told them exactly what I said to you guys, and told them the truth," Patricia said. "I also took this opportunity again, to one more time, focus on the fact that in this time we do need to be sensitive and responsible, and I used this as a learning moment for them so we can all try to be better."
As Patricia finished the news conference, reporters continued to ask questions.
Because there are plenty that remain unanswered.
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