Patricia: 'I was innocent then and I am innocent now'

Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia used a previously scheduled press conference Thursday to again insist on his innocence after his 1996 charge of aggravated sexual assault came to light Wednesday.

A woman told Texas police that Patricia, then 21, and one of his fraternity brothers burst into her hotel room and violently sexually assaulted her during spring break. The two men were arrested and later indicted, but the case was dismissed in 1997 after the woman decided she wouldn't testify.

"I'm here to defend my honor and clear my name," Patricia said. "I was innocent then and I am innocent now. I was falsely accused of something I did not do."

Patricia said that while he is thankful the case was dismissed, he was never given an opportunity to clear his name. After reading a prepared statement, he took questions from the media, but declined to go into detail about the night in question.

"This was something that was very traumatic to me when I was 21 years old and when it was finally addressed, I tried to put it behind me," Patricia said.

The Lions admitted Wednesday that they hadn't been aware of the case. When asked why it hadn't come up in the hiring process, Patricia said he'd never been questioned about the case in any job interview.

"I've interviewed for a lot of jobs ... It was never an issue, it never came up as anything because it was dismissed and I was innocent," he said. "It just has never been a part of any process that I have been involved with before."

Patricia maintained that he has the full support of the Lions' front office and ownership and stated that he is "100 percent" still the head coach of the team.