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Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia said Thursday he was "falsely accused" in a 1996 sexual assault allegation that resurfaced this week Michael Palardy Jersey , and he indicated that the matter has not been an issue as he has climbed from job to job in the years since.

Patricia held a brief news conference one day after a Detroit News report that he and a friend were indicted 22 years ago by a Texas grand jury on one count each of aggravated sexual assault. They were accused of assaulting a woman on South Padre Island. The accuser did not testify and the case was dismissed.

"I was innocent then, and I am innocent now," Patricia said.

The Lions said Wednesday night that a pre-employment background check did not turn up the incident. The team said Patricia was 21 at the time and on spring break in Texas. The Lions said they were standing by Patricia.

An NFL spokesman said Thursday the league "will review the matter with the club to understand the allegations and what the club has learned."

Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford, general manager Bob Quinn and president Rod Wood were at Thursday's news conference but did not speak.

"I'm here to defend my honor and clear my name. Twenty-two years ago, I was falsely accused of something very serious," Patricia said . "There were claims made about me that never happened. While I'm thankful on one level that the process worked, and the case was dismissed, at the same time, I was never given the opportunity to defend myself."

Patricia took a few questions but did not provide details about the day in question.

"I was falsely accused of something that I did not do Daryl Johnston Jersey ," he said.

The Detroit News, citing a March 1996 story in the Brownsville (Texas) Herald, said Patricia and a friend were accused of entering the hotel room where the woman was sleeping and sexually assaulting her. The men were arrested later that night and released on bond, according to the story and court records.

The indictment came that August, but the case was eventually dismissed. The Detroit News posted a motion to dismiss from January 1997, which said the alleged victim did not feel she could "face the pressures or stress of a trial."

Patricia's first NFL coaching job was as an assistant with the New England Patriots in 2004, and he remained with them through last season, when he was the defensive coordinator. He was hired by the Lions in February to replace Jim Caldwell.

Before joining the Patriots, Patricia worked as a graduate assistant in 1996 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Christian Covington Jersey , his alma mater. That was before he spent two years working as an aeronautical engineer. Patricia was an assistant coach at Amherst and a graduate assistant at Syracuse before moving on to the NFL.

"I've interviewed for a lot of jobs," Patricia said. "Interviewing for jobs in engineering right after the situation happened, it was never an issue, it never came up as anything, because it was dismissed, and I was innocent, so it just has never been part of any process that I've been involved with."

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the team wasn't aware of the legal case and expressed support for Patricia.

"For 14 years in our organization, Matt conducted himself with great integrity and is known to be an outstanding coach, person and family man Dede Westbrook Jersey ," Belichick said in a statement. "We have always been confident in Matt's character and recommended him highly to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions."

The Philadelphia Eagles have agreed on a one-year contract with wide receiver Mike Wallace.

The 31-year-old Wallace spent the past two seasons in Baltimore and had 52 catches for 748 yards and four touchdowns last year. The deal announced Thursday is reportedly worth up to $4 million.

Wallace has 538 receptions for 8,072 yards and 57 TDs in nine seasons with four teams. He is one of 10 active NFL players with 8,000 career yards receiving and 500 career receptions, joining Antonio Brown, Larry Fitzgerald, Antonio Gates, A.J. Green, DeSean Jackson, Julio Jones J.J. Jansen Jersey , Brandon Marshall, Demaryius Thomas and Jason Witten.

Wallace was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2011 and has three 1,000-yard seasons, including 2016 for the Ravens.

The Super Bowl champion Eagles traded veteran receiver Torrey Smith to Carolina and Wallace fills the need for a deep threat.

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