The Atlanta Falcons have fired assistant defensive line coach LaTroy Lewis just two weeks after he was hired with Ann Arbor Police investigating a rape allegation against him.
Lewis, 32, is accused of raping a woman in December 2024 while he was working as a University of Michigan staffer, a month after they first made contact on a dating app.
Lewis, who denies the accusations, also allegedly sent her a string of abusive, threatening and sexually explicit messages on multiple occasions and also attacked her.
The accusations were first reported by Darko State News and the investigation has the potential to embroil the scandalized former Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, who had Lewis on his coaching staff at the time of the allegations.
The report says the woman reached out to Moore to tell him about the rape allegations but he dismissed them and later endorsed Lewis for another job at Toledo, before also allegedly sending her sexually explicit messages himself.
From Toledo, Lewis was hired by the Falcons on February 10 but the NFL team said in a statement on Friday: ‘The Atlanta Falcons have dismissed assistant defensive line coach LaTroy Lewis from his role.’
The Atlanta Falcons have fired assistant defensive line coach LaTroy Lewis amid rape claims
The reports also claim the woman told Sherrone Moore about what allegedly happened and say that he failed to act – Moore was fired by Michigan in December for an affair with his assistant
The report claims that the woman then told Moore what had allegedly happened to her at a time when he was Michigan head coach, and says he did not report it to the powers above him at the organization.
The initial report from Darko State News includes pictures of the woman’s injuries from alleged attacks by Lewis, as well as sexually explicit messages sent by Moore and Lewis.
Moore was fired by Michigan last December for an affair with his assistant.
Moore, 40, is accused of entering his assistant’s apartment without permission after he lost his job and threatening to kill himself in front of her on Dec. 10. Authorities quoted him as saying she was to blame for him losing one of the top college football positions in the country.
Moore is due in court on March 19 for charges of third-degree home invasion, stalking, and breaking and entering.
And now, Moore’s former colleague Lewis has also lost a big job at an NFL team.
According to Darko State News, Lewis denies the claims made against him.
Ann Arbor Police said to Daily Mail in a statement: ‘The Ann Arbor Police Department was just recently made aware of allegations regarding a sexual assault reported to have occurred on December 5, 2024.
‘The AAPD Detective Bureau launched an immediate investigation into the incident. This investigation remains active and ongoing.’
A statement from the University of Michigan, reported by Detroit Free Press, said: ‘These allegations are deeply concerning. As we have noted, the University launched an investigation of the circumstances and conduct leading to Sherrone Moore’s firing, as well as a broader culture review of the Athletic Department.’
