Detroit Lions: Not all the questions are on the field

The Detroit Lions and their new head coach suffered through a difficult week in the media, but much of it has to do with how they have handled the questions.

This past week will not go down as one of the finer weeks in Detroit Lions history. Just as this franchise and its fans have started to feel good about the organization and the direction it is headed, they were all blindsided by a blast from Matt Patricia’s past.

In the course of just a couple of weeks the Lions positive momentum from the draft was derailed by allegations of Matt Patricia and a friend sexually assaulting a woman 22 years ago on spring break in Texas.

We all pretty much know the story by now, Patricia and his friend were declared innocent when the plaintiff refused to testify. A situation that was not all that uncommon up to that point in time. In this case, the plaintiff said she didn’t believe she could handle stress of a trial.

It was the classic he said/she said case which we will never truly know how it would have played out had she been able to face him in court.

The point is this; while most Lions fans and the organization want to believe Patricia is innocent and move on, it was nonetheless a serious allegation which should not be taken lightly.

Now, I’m not saying that Matt Patricia is guilty. One of the basic principles of the American judicial system is that any man is innocent until proven guilty. Without that bedrock principle, there would be anarchy. That principle is why the system is against vigilantes. We all have the right to be judged by a group of our peers to determine our guilt or innocence.

No, what I’m saying is that the Detroit Lions have not handled the situation well. This has compounded what would have still been a difficult discovery to deal with into a maelstrom.