Detroit Lions owner Martha Ford, team president Rod Wood and general manager Bob Quinn released a joint statement late Wednesday expressing support for head coach Matt Patricia after a sexual assault charge against him from 22 years ago resurfaced in a Detroit News story.

Patricia, in an accompanying statement, denied the accusation, made by a woman while Patricia was a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on spring break in South Padre Island, Texas, in 1996.

“As someone who was falsely accused of this very serious charge over 22 years ago, and never given the opportunity to defend myself and clear my name, I find it incredibly unfair, disappointing, and frustrating that this story would resurface now with the only purpose being to damage my character and reputation,” Patricia said in the statement. “I firmly maintain my innocence, as I have always done. I would never condone any of the behavior that was alleged and will always respect and protect the rights of anyone who has been harassed or is the victim of violence.

“My priorities remain the same — to move forward and strive to be the best coach, teacher, and man that I can possibly be.”

The joint statement from the team’s leadership read, in part, that the charge against Patricia “was dismissed by the prosecutor at the request of the complaining individual prior to trial. As a result, Coach Patricia never had the opportunity to present his case or clear his name publicly in a court of law. He has denied that there was any factual basis for the charge. There was no settlement agreement with the complaining individual, no money exchanged hands and there was no confidentiality agreement. In discussions today with Lions management, the reporter involved acknowledged that the allegations have not been substantiated.

“As an organization, the Detroit Lions take allegations regarding sexual assault or harassment seriously. Coach Patricia was the subject of a standard pre-employment background check which did not disclose this issue. We have spoken to Coach Patricia about this at length as well as the attorney who represented him at the time. Based upon everything we have learned, we believe and have accepted Coach Patricia’s explanation and we will continue to support him. We will continue to work with our players and the NFL to further awareness of and protections for those individuals who are the victims of sexual assault or violence.”

Charges were filed in the case, and Patricia and his friend, Greg Dietrich, were indicted by a grand jury of one count of aggravated sexual assault, but they were never tried in the case.

Wood told the Detroit News that he and Quinn were not aware of the allegation in Patricia’s past when they hired him. Wood later told the newspaper that he was “comfortable” with Patricia on staff.

Madrid – Zinedine Zidane believes Cristiano Ronaldo will be fit to play for Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

Zidane also said on Tuesday that Mohamed Salah deserves great credit for Liverpool’s surprise run in Europe but insisted the match in Kiev will not be a contest of the Egyptian against Ronaldo.

Ronaldo was forced off at half-time of Sunday’s Clasico between Real and Barcelona, which ended 2-2 at the Camp Nou, and Zidane has confirmed the Portuguese sprained his ankle.

There were fears the injury could affect Ronaldo’s chances of facing Liverpool on May 26 but Zidane is confident his star player will recover, along with fellow absentees Isco and Dani Carvajal.

“I think they will all be fine for the final – Cristiano, Isco, Carvajal,” Zidane said.

“The one more injured is Cristiano because it has just happened but it is going well, he is walking normally and he will be fine.”

Ronaldo was hurt during a collision with Gerard Pique just as he bundled in Real’s equaliser against Barcelona.

He played on for 31 minutes until the interval but did not emerge for the second half.

“It is a sprain, but there is no particular damage on the fibula, it is a small sprain and his ankle is stable,” Zidane said.

“Ronaldo, in terms of his injury, is incredible, that’s what he has this guy, he is already on the ground, walking, and feeling positive 48 hours later.

“Even if we do not know when he will resume with the team, the fact that he is already there 48 hours after shows his commitment, his desire to always want to play.”

Real visit Sevilla in La Liga on Wednesday but with the title race settled and their place in the top four safe, the key now is to avoid any further injury scares.

Liverpool, still battling for Champions League qualification in the Premier League, will not have the luxury of resting star players like Salah, who is considered key to them beating Real.

“Salah had a great season and I think he deserves a lot of credit for Liverpool being in the final, that’s for sure,” Zidane said.

“But in the end, I don’t like to call this a match of Cristiano against Salah. It will be Madrid against Liverpool, as always, that is the most important thing.”

METAIRIE, La. — Here’s the bright side: If any team is equipped to handle a No. 1 running back getting hit with a four-game suspension, it’s the New Orleans Saints, who have two No. 1 running backs.

Of course, Mark Ingram’s suspension for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances is not an ideal scenario for the Saints, who loved their one-two punch of Ingram and Kamara last season. New Orleans mixed the two almost interchangeably in the run game, passing game and short-yardage game.

They became the first duo in NFL history to each surpass 1,500 yards from scrimmage in a season, with both of them scoring at least 12 touchdowns and making the Pro Bowl. They were a huge reason the Saints boasted the No. 2-ranked offense and led the league in rushing touchdowns and yards per rush.

But Kamara sure looks like a guy who can handle being both 1A and 1B while Ingram is sidelined for the first four weeks of the 2018 season. The NFL’s reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year showed he could do a little bit of everything last season, as he racked up 728 rushing yards, 826 receiving yards and 14 total touchdowns.

Even the Saints admitted that Kamara was a better between-the-tackles runner than they expected while he averaged a whopping 6.1 yards per carry. By the end of the season, Kamara began to take on slightly more of the workload than Ingram.

We discussed those evolving roles at last week’s ESPN Fantasy Football rankings summit, where we collectively ranked Kamara sixth among running backs and Ingram 14th.

Obviously, they’ll be heading in two different directions on that list now. The bigger question is whether the disparity will become permanent.

Ingram’s suspension comes at a critical time in his career. Not only is he trying to prove he can still run step for step with the NFL’s newest superstar running back, but he is also heading into the final year of his contract.

The NFL Network reported that Ingram has not been participating in the Saints’ offseason conditioning program so far. Earlier this offseason, he switched from longtime agent Joel Segal to new agents Paul Bobbitt and David Jones. It’s unclear whether that means Ingram is angling for a lucrative contract extension before the season kicks off. If so, this suspension won’t help his case.

I certainly don’t expect Ingram to wind up in the Saints’ ‘doghouse.’ The former Heisman Trophy winner and first-round draft pick has been widely respected by teammates and coaches throughout his seven-year career in New Orleans, especially for the way he handled his smaller role in a crowded timeshare when things weren’t going great early in his career.

But even a guy as beloved as Ingram might feel like a luxury item if Kamara proves that he can be a true leading man in Ingram’s absence. One way or another, this suspension is a huge letdown at this stage of Ingram’s career after he had worked long and hard to establish himself as one of the NFL’s best running backs following early struggles.