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Lions Put Trust In Patricia After Assault Allegations Resurface

Patricia addressed his past indictment during a seven-minute news conference on Thursdaygetty images

The Lions are putting on a "show of force and trust" in coach Matt Patricia after news resurfaced of a sexual assault allegations against him during college, according to a front-page piece by Bob Wojnowski of the DETROIT NEWS. The franchise’s top three execs -- Owner Martha Firestone Ford, President Rod Wood and Exec VP & GM Bob Quinn -- "watched intently" as Patricia addressed the situation during a seven-minute news conference on Thursday. The Lions in some ways are "taking the bigger leap of faith now" compared to when they hired the first-time coach and are "doubling down by admitting they didn’t know about the incident, and aren’t concerned they didn’t know." The team "reaffirmed that" during Thursday's press conference "without uttering a word" (DETROIT NEWS, 5/11). In Detroit, Jeff Seidel in a front-page piece writes Ford's presence at the conference "spoke volumes," as she is "still behind Patricia." Other members of the front office also "made a huge statement" that they too are "behind this new coach." Seidel: "They have doubled down on him. Even if they look foolish for not knowing about this situation before they hired him" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 5/11). ESPN's Bob Ley said the Lions are "tripling down" on Patricia. Ley: "They have every reason to be all in on this, but it's the look that's going to persist" ("OTL," ESPN, 5/10). 

DUE DILIGENCE: THE ATHLETIC's Don Banks wrote the only thing "definitively known today in Detroit is that the Lions didn’t do their due diligence on Patricia before hiring him." In a league where "most teams employ ex-law enforcement officials in their security departments, and with the NFL office hiring experienced criminal investigators in recent years, the Lions’ work (or lack thereof) on Patricia isn’t a good look." One question to come from this is "how seriously do NFL teams take conducting background checks during coaching searches." Former NFL team execs said that "most teams use a catch-all question in interviews, asking the candidate if there’s anything they want to disclose that could potentially cause embarrassment to the club or himself." It is a question the Lions "apparently didn’t ask, perhaps because Quinn thought he knew all he needed to know about Patricia after the two formed a tight bond working together 12 years" with the Patriots (THEATHLETIC.com, 5/10). In DC, Mark Maske notes current and former NFL execs were "surprised that the Lions said they were unaware of the incident before hiring Patricia." One former NFL exec said, "Anything that was a public record, we’d know about. We’d know about anything that was reported in the media. How you would not know about a public record, I don’t know." Maske notes documents regarding the case "were available via an online records search." However, the Lions said that they "conducted a background search before hiring Patricia that did not reveal the incident" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/11).

CHANGES IN THE PROCESS: CBSSPORTS.com's Jason La Canfora writes it is unlikely "any other head coaches get hired in this league without a thorough scrubbing of their entire legal record." It is "stunning that isn't already the case around the league" (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/11). ESPN's Dan Graziano said teams going forward will "probably take this into account and apply maybe some different standards to their background checks when they do this in the future." ESPN's Michele Steele: "The question is very simple. Why didn't they know? This was something that was very much a public record" ("NFL Live," ESPN, 5/10). Graziano added, "Perception matters. You're presenting this person as the face of your franchise. The more background you can do on this guy is better, and in this case it seems like something got through the cracks that shouldn't have" ("OTL," ESPN, 5/10). ESPN's Trey Wingo: "There are two faces of your franchise: your starting quarterback and then there's your head coach. You would think that most teams would want to do as deep of a dive on those two as possible" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 5/11). 

EXPLAINING TO DO: USA TODAY's Dan Wolken writes Patricia seemed to "foolishly expect that the kind of fame one acquires by becoming an NFL head coach would never result in a serious legal matter from his past being uncovered." But once Patricia got on the "fast track to becoming a head coach within the past couple years, the idea he would lack the self-awareness to anticipate his past resurfacing is simply not believable" (USA TODAY, 5/11). In Detroit, Shawn Windsor writes when a person believes they are innocent of something, the "last thing you want is attention when you feel you've been wrongfully accused." However, if a person is "aiming to become the face of a billion-dollar operation, in which your public persona can directly affect the business, then you owe your potential employer an explanation" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 5/11). 

COULD NFL DO ANYTHING? In Detroit, Carlos Monarrez writes there is "no precedent for how the NFL might handle a situation similar to Patricia’s" in part because there is "no ongoing legal action and because of the length of time that has passed since the alleged incident." However, the NFL's personal conduct policy does allow it a "wide berth to dispense discipline" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 5/11). In N.Y., Kevin Draper notes in some cases, the NFL has "assessed penalties, such as suspensions, even if the conduct does not result in legal proceedings." It was "unclear whether Patricia would be subjected to that policy for a variety of reasons," including that the accusation "might have been fabricated." Additionally, whatever may or may not have occurred 22 years ago "happened long before Patricia entered the NFL and years before the current conduct policy was put into effect" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/11).

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