Only hours after LaTroy Lewis was accused of rape and sexual assault on Friday, the Atlanta Falcons have fired him. This comes as the former assistant defensive line coach was accused by a woman of attacking her in separate incidents, who shared graphic messages with reporter Justin Spiro. She alleged that the 32-year-old ‘commanded her to perform various sexual acts on him’. To several fans’ surprise, Sherrone Moore was also mentioned in the text messages.
The reporter states that when the woman brought the complaint to then-Michigan coach Moore, he dismissed her allegations.
“We are aware of allegations regarding LaTroy Lewis,” the Falcons said in a statement. “We are in the process of gathering information and will have no further comment at this time.”
Reacting to the messages, one social media user wrote: “At some point it’s more than just a few coaches, or just the athletics department. Where are the leaders to step in and protect the people on campus? How does this continue to happen over and over and over again?”
“Michigan State has had very publicized and horrific issues and that led to people from every corner of the school being sent packing. The most important thing at any school is the safety and wellbeing of the people who go to school there, full stop,” they further added on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
Who is LaTroy Lewis?
Lewis, an Akron, Ohio native, began his coaching career in 2020 as a graduate assistant at Akron, primarily working with outside linebackers, according to the Falcons’ press release announcing his hiring.
He then spent the 2021 season at South Alabama as a defensive graduate assistant, focusing mainly on special teams and nickelbacks.
In 2022, Lewis served as a special teams analyst at Wake Forest.
Before entering coaching, Lewis played defensive line at the University of Tennessee from 2013 to 2016, earning a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. He went on to play two seasons in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders (2017), Houston Texans (2017-18), and Tennessee Titans (2018).
On February 10, the Atlanta Falcons announced they had hired Lewis as their defensive line coach. He joins the staff after spending the 2025 season in the same role at Toledo, following three seasons (2022-24) at Michigan, where he was part of the team that won the 2023 National Championship.