Michigan Offensive tackle Taylor Lewan, Greg Robinson and Jake Matthews,: any of the three could be the first OT off the board in the NFL Draft, and the order of the three is in flux. Overall, the triad grade out higher than Lane Johnson, Luke Joeckel and Eric Fisher did last year. Even though all of them went top five. But I’m surprised THIS isn’t affecting Taylor Lewan’s draft stock very much.
People aren’t talking about it. They should.
And the NFL should really do their due diligence on Taylor Lewan before they think about taking him. I know he was asked about it at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Here’s a more in-depth investigation into the case.
A quick excerpt:
Shortly after the woman reported the rape, she began to receive threats from Gibbons roommate and fellow football player, Taylor Lewan (now an All-American), that he would rape her again if she pressed charges against Gibbons.
The threats were reported by two other football players to the Office of Student Affairs who reported them to the University police. The University police did a “wellness check” on the young woman and met with Taylor Lewan. They warned Taylor Lewan not to threaten the woman again and that he might face criminal charges. No criminal charges were ever filed by the campus police.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the police report said Taylor Lewan told the friend that if the victim pressed charges against Gibbons “then I’m going to rape her because he didn’t.”
Taylor Lewan denied the allegation at the NFL Scouting Combine and added that he was “not here to defend Brendan Gibbons.”
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on news talk radio; with regular segments on ESPN,NBC, CBS and Fox. A former NBC Chicago and Washington Times writer, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)