WDIV (Channel 4 in Detroit) is reporting that a Detroit Lions player has been accused of "inappropriate sexual conduct" by a 22-year-old woman. The alleged incident happened at Ironwood Grill in Plymouth on Monday night. A private party was held at the restaurant and five players from the Lions were in attendance. The accused player's name has not been released by police, nor has the alleged victim's identity. Her lawyers released the following statement:
"On Thursday, there were reports in the news media of an incident that occurred at the Ironwood Grill in Plymouth on Monday," Jaafar said in the statement. "Jaafar and Mahdi Law Group can confirm that we represent the victim of the sexual assault that we believe was perpetrated by a Detroit Lions player who has not been named. Our client, a 22-year-old woman, does not wish to make her identity public or to garner any publicity from this terrible incident. Our job is to help provide a remedy for our client, and we are confident that once the facts come to light, our client's rights will be vindicated. We request that all communication in this matter come through our office."
Allen Cox, the Plymouth police chief, said that the accused person in this matter "emphatically denied that anything happened." He added that police intend to talk to potential witnesses and that "there is a lot to do to find out exactly what happened."
FOX 2 Detroit picked up this story on Friday (WDIV was first to report on it) and reported that the Lions did not return calls for comment.