The Atlanta team hired Lewis on Feb. 10 and announced his firing on Feb. 27 after allegations stemming from a December 2024 incident
Credit: AP Photo
NEED TO KNOW
- The Atlanta Falcons fired LaTroy Lewis on Feb. 27, a day after a report detailing disturbing allegations of rape and battery against the assistant defensive line coach surfaced
- The alleged incident occurred in December 2024 when Lewis was on the coaching staff at the University of Michigan
- A lawyer for Lewis called the allegations against him “false”
The Atlanta Falcons have fired LaTroy Lewis, a newly hired assistant defensive line coach, in the wake of disturbing allegations of rape and battery from his time on staff at the University of Michigan.
Lewis was fired after less than a month on the Falcons’ coaching staff on Friday, Feb. 27, the day after journalist Justin Spiro reported the alleged December 2024 rape — when Lewis was on the coaching staff at the Ann Arbor college — including photos of messages he allegedly sent to a female victim.
The Falcons first acknowledged the allegations of rape in a statement before announcing the firing with another statement on Feb. 27. The Ann Arbor Police Department (AAPD) is also aware of the allegations, a police spokesperson told PEOPLE.
"We are aware of allegations regarding LaTroy Lewis. We are in the process of gathering information and will have no further comment at this time," the Falcons’ first statement said, according to Reuters. The subsequent statement announced that Falcons “have dismissed” the assistant defensive line coach.
“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 suspect in this investigation is LaTroy Lewis,” an AAPD spokesperson told PEOPLE. “The AAPD Detective Bureau launched an immediate investigation into the incident. This investigation remains active and ongoing.”
The dismissal comes less than a month after Lewis was hired to the Falcons coaching staff on Feb. 10, according to multiple outlets, including ESPN and Reuters.
Credit: Frederick Breedon/Getty
The accuser claims that after connecting on a dating app, the then-Michigan staffer raped and battered her in a hotel room on Dec. 5, 2024 after she traveled to Ann Arbor for work, according to Spiro’s report and ESPN.
The accuser’s attorney, Karen Truszkowski, described Lewis’ behavior as “increasingly aggressive" to ESPN. In alleged text exchanges Spiro shared, Lewis threatens physical and sexual violence, including messages like "I'm going to f— you up” and "I'd f—ing kill you.” The journalist's report also includes a photo of the accuser’s eye injury after the alleged assault.
The same woman also alleges that Lewis also became physically, not sexually, violent against her at her Michigan apartment in January 2025, and shared images of bruises on her arm, allegedly from the incident. At the time, police responded to the incident, but she did not disclose the alleged battery out of fear of Lewis, according to Spiro’s report.
Days before the allegations surfaced publicly, the accuser filed an incident report with the AAPD and applied for a protective order against Lewis, her attorney, Truszkowski, told ESPN.
Spiro claims that he spoke with Lewis about the allegations off-record, but the former Falcons coach declined to comment for his report. Spiro reported that after speaking with Lewis, the former coach called the accuser, who “instructed him not to call again and hung up.”
Credit: Bob Levey/Getty
Lewis’ lawyer, Fabiola A. Galguera, called the allegations from the unidentified woman “false” in a statement shared with ESPN.
“Allegations of sexual misconduct are not proof of sexual misconduct. It is essential to pass judgment based on facts, and the facts are currently not being presented to the public,” Galguera said. “Mr. Lewis intends to fiercely fight these false allegations with the support of his wife, family, and my team.”
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The accuser also alleges that she informed then-Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, who she knew personally, about the alleged rape and battery shortly after they occurred, according to Spiro and ESPN.
Truszkowski told ESPN that Moore not only failed to report the alleged assault, but also “weaponized” the incident against her by sending her sexual messages.
An attorney for Moore, Ellen Michaels, denied these allegations in a statement to ESPN, stating, "Sherrone Moore did not fail to report misconduct, did not reward wrongdoing and did not harass anyone. These claims are false.”
PEOPLE reached out to Truszkowski, Galguera and Michaels for comment, but did not receive immediate responses.
Moore no longer works at Michigan, as he was fired in December 2025 due to an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, according to ESPN. He was subsequently arrested for allegedly stalking and entering a staff member’s home illegally, and is currently awaiting trial for charges related to the incident, per the outlet.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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