Falcons fire ex-Michigan football assistant; police investigate sexual assault claims

Tony Paul and Angelique S. Chengelis, The Detroit News on Feb 27, 2026

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

A former Michigan football assistant coach has been fired from his job with the Atlanta Falcons following allegations of sexual and physical abuse stemming from his time on staff in Ann Arbor.

LaTroy Lewis was fired as assistant defensive line coach with the Falcons, the team announced Friday afternoon, hours after it said it was investigating the claims after an online report was published Thursday.

Also Friday, Ann Arbor police confirmed that they are investigating allegations of sexual assault, after a woman filed a report with the department on Thursday.

Ann Arbor police did not disclose the name of either party; The Detroit News is not naming the woman.

"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 department said in a statement to The News. "The AAPD Detective Bureau launched an immediate investigation into the incident. This investigation remains active and ongoing."

The News has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Ann Arbor police for the initial report.

Lewis at Michigan under Harbaugh, Moore

Lewis, 32, was on staff at Michigan in 2023, under then-head coach Jim Harbaugh, and 2024, under then-head coach Sherrone Moore, as a graduate assistant. He left to be defensive line coach with Toledo in 2025, and followed head coach Jason Candle from Toledo to Connecticut, briefly, before he was hired by the Falcons.

He was with the Falcons for just over two weeks, before the team announced his firing Friday afternoon in a 14-word statement on its website.

Earlier Friday, the Falcons announced they were investigating claims made by the woman in a report published Thursday by Justin Spiro of the Spiro Avenue website and podcast. In his report, Spiro detailed allegations of sexual assault as well as lewd text messages. The messages from both Lewis and Moore, according to the report.

Spiro published screenshots of the text messages, as well as photographs the woman said she took of bruises following the alleged assault.

The relationship between the woman and Lewis was said to have begun in 2024, and in early 2025, police were called to her residence in Milford after a neighbor reported hearing loud noises, believed to be an argument between the two, in the nearby apartment, the report said.

Milford police report details

In the Milford police report, obtained by The News, police said they were invited into the woman's home and they spoke with both Lewis and the woman. Police believed the woman had been crying, but didn't observe signs of any physical abuse on her body during the visit to her home Jan. 4, 2025.

Lewis told another officer that the two were arguing and "being loud" and that he threw a piece of Styrofoam from a box and slammed a bedroom door. Lewis denied anything physical happened, one officer wrote.

Officers recommended Lewis and the woman, who said they had been dating for five months, separate for a period of time to cool off, but the woman told police "she was fine with him staying."

Officers left the apartment and no charges were filed, because of a lack of evidence.

This is the latest in a string of allegations of wrongdoing against former members of the Michigan football coaching staff. Moore was fired after two seasons as head coach by athletic director Warde Manuel in December after evidence surfaced of an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, and he was arrested later that day and booked in jail on multiple charges, including home invasion and stalking.

Moore is due back in court for an evidentiary hearing Monday.

Michigan has hired an outside law firm to investigate its athletic department; the investigation is ongoing.

"These allegations are deeply concerning," Paul Corliss, assistant vice president of public affairs and internal communications at Michigan, said in a statement provided to The News on Friday. "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. We continue to urge anyone with relevant information to reach out to the law firm conducting the investigation."

The News reached out to the woman Friday and hasn't received a response.

Lewis, an Ohio native, played linebacker at Tennessee before a brief career in the NFL. Lewis began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Akron at 2020, and moved on South Alabama and Wake Forest before he was hired at Michigan in 2023.