The University of Michigan agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle allegations brought by a woman who accused a former Wolverine football staff member of rape.
News of the settlement comes the same week the Ann Arbor police confirmed they closed the case without asking prosecutors to bring criminal charges into an alleged 2024 sexual assault where they had publicly identified former football staffer LaTroy Lewis as a suspect in the case.
It's all part of a tumultuous year for the athletic department and the university: a $12 million private legal review into culture, the departure of the longtime athletic director and welcoming a new university president tasked with overseeing sweeping changes in the athletic department.
A settlement agreement obtained
by the Free Press shows earlier this summer, the university agreed to pay a woman $848,000 and her lawyer another $352,000 in order to release any claims the woman might have against the Ann Arbor based school.
The woman named in the settlement has the same name as a woman who obtained a personal protection order against Lewis earlier this year and in a 2025 police report indicating the woman and Lewis were in a romantic relationship.
The Free Press generally does not identify people described as victims of sexual assault without their consent.
In the legal agreement, the university indicates the woman and her lawyer raised allegations as part of an already ongoing school inquiry into the culture of the athletics department. The settlement does not provide details of these allegations, but asserts the university denies them.
In exchange for the money, the woman and her lawyer agree to relinquish any legal claims against the university and current or former employees. That essentially means they won't sue the university related to the allegations.
Both sides also agreed to a confidentiality clause, indicating they won't discuss the specific details of the settlement. They also agreed not to public disparage each other.
A lawyer representing the woman involved did not immediately respond to Free Press messages seeking comment.
Lewis, who was fired from a coaching position with the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL in February when the allegations surfaced, denied any misconduct at the time. His lawyer also did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment.
A university spokesman declined to comment. The settlement indicates if asked about the settlement by the media, the university is allowed to say something to the effect of, "the dispute has been resolved."
On Tuesday, Aug. 25, Ann Arbor Police Department spokesman Chis Page told the Free Press in an email the department closed its investigation into Lewis. Earlier this year, the department took the rare step of publicly naming Lewis as a suspect related to, "allegations regarding a sexual assault reported to have occurred on December 5, 2024."
Page did not respond to additional questions this week as to why the department closed the case.
Liz Mack, a spokeswoman for Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savitt, told the Free Press their office never received a request for prosecution on the case.
In late February, a woman successfully obtained a personal protection order against Lewis in Washtenaw County. The woman provided sparse but stark allegations in her request for the order.
"Raped & assaulted me, threatened to kill me," the woman wrote in capital letters. "LaTroy repeatedly threatened my life ... Raped & beat me."
A separate police report filed in 2025 with the Milford Police Department also provides details on the relationship. Law enforcement responded to an apartment after receiving calls from neighbors about yelling. When they arrived, police reported hearing a woman yelling from outside the room. When they knocked, the woman answered the door with watery eyes and red cheeks, according to the report.
Lewis was in a separate room in the apartment. In individual interviews with police, both Lewis and the woman said they had a verbal argument but there was not physical altercation. They also acknowledged an ongoing romantic relationship. It does not appear charges were filed.
The Ann Arbor allegations emerged amid an array of scandals for Michigan football − a few months earlier, the university fired then-head football coach Sherrone Moore, saying he lied about having an affair with a subordinate. That same day, Moore when to the home of his executive assistant, Paige Shiver. The ensuing encounter prompted Moore's arrested and a criminal charges. Moore ultimately pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and received probation.
Shiver and her lawyers have subsequently sued the university for records related to the private law firm's investigation and repeatedly called for more accountability from leadership. University lawyers recently asked a Washtenaw County judge to toss the records lawsuit.
The settlement agreement indicates the woman who accused Lewis of rape reached out to the private law firm hired by the university to review the Moore situation and the broader culture of the athletics department. Lewis was a defensive analyst for the football team in 2024, according to Lewis' LinkedIn.
In July, the university released a summary of the findings from the private law firm hired to review the athletics department. While it denied any evidence of systemic misconduct, university leaders promised wide-spread changes to foundational human resources, compliance and oversight policies.
The same day, the university confirmed athletic director Warde Manuel is stepping down at the end of the year. Subsequently, the Free Press obtained an agreement showing the university plans to pay Manuel more than $7 million as part of a buy out package.
Dave Boucher is an investigative reporter with the Detroit Free Press. You can reach him at dboucher@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: U-M agrees to $1.2M settlement with woman who said ex-staffer raped her
