Editor’s Note: This story contains alleged reports of sexual assault. If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org
The Bills have released freshman Matt Araiza after he was accused of taking part in a gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in San Diego state last year.
News of Araiza’s release was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and announced shortly thereafter by Bill’s general manager Brandon Beane.
“This afternoon we decided that releasing Matt Araiza was for the best,” Beane said, according to the team. “Our culture in Buffalo is more important than winning football games.”
Araiza, 22, was named along with former SDSU teammates Zavier Leonard and Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko in a lawsuit filed Thursday in San Diego County Superior Court. The complaint alleged that Ariaza raped the minor, who said she had been drinking with friends before attending the party, outside of an off-campus party last year. The girl, now 18, says Araiza, who lived at the residence and was a junior at the time, then took her to a bedroom where Leonard, Ewaliko and at least one other man were present, and the group raped and assaulted her for an hour and a half , until the party closed.
According to the lawsuit, the girl “stumbled out of the room bloodied and crying” after the attack. Her nose, navel and ear piercings had been ripped out and she was also bleeding from her vagina.”
In the wake of the allegations, Araiza did not play in the Bills’ preseason game against the Panthers on Friday. The 2022 sixth-round pick recently won the starting job after the club fired veteran Matt Haack earlier this week.
During a press conference held shortly after Buffalo’s release of Araiza, Beane addressed the reason for the decision as well as accounts of the team’s prior knowledge of the allegations leading up to Thursday’s events. The Athletic’s Tim Graham reported on Friday that the bills had not reached the plaintiff after learning of the situation last month. Buffalo declined to comment on the matter the same day, but announced they had conducted a “thorough investigation into the matter.”
Beane, who said the decision was made for non-football reasons, said the Bills first came to their attention in late July after the plaintiff’s representative “set out some of the things they said to Matt and accused others”. Team legal counsel also noted that neither the team nor the league were aware of the allegations at the time of the June draft.
“We reached out to double-digit teams and nobody knew about it,” he said, according to The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia.
Beane also explained the reason the club didn’t act sooner after learning of the allegations, telling reporters Buffalo didn’t have “the resources to put all the facts together” and that they are still “putting information together” at this point.
“At that time, in our process, we tried to be thorough and thoughtful and not to be too quick to judge,” Beane said. “I would say it’s not easy, you try to frame facts around a legal position sometimes with limited information. And that is exactly where we are today with this decision.”
The lawsuit comes nearly two months after the Los Angeles Times reported that five members of SDSU’s football team were reported to campus officials last fall for a rape that allegedly took place at an off-campus house party. The school suffered an immediate backlash after the report found it had failed to open an internal investigation or any student disciplinary process more than seven months after the incident became known. SDSU eventually launched its own Title IX investigation nine months after the allegations first surfaced.
Addressing why it waited to begin its investigation during the announcement, the university said that the “San Diego Police Department requested that SDSU take no action, including opening an investigation and conducting interviews, in relation to the reported off-campus sexual assault in order not to jeopardize his own criminal investigation.”
On Friday, Araiza made his first public statement on the matter through ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Because the incident happened while he was in college, Araiza is not subject to NFL discipline.
“The facts of the incident are not what they are presented in the lawsuit or in the press. I’m looking forward to fixing the record quickly,” he said.
Araiza and two others have been named in a gang rape lawsuit. Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza has been accused in a civil lawsuit along with two former college teammates of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at a Halloween party last October.
Why did the Bills release their punter?
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Fierce public backlash coupled with the graphic details of a lawsuit alleging Matt Araiza’s involvement in a gang rape of a teenager last fall left Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane with no choice but to take down the rookie punter of the teams release on Saturday.
Has Matt Araiza been cut? Bills cut punter Matt Araiza after rookie was accused of gang rape in graphic civil lawsuit The Buffalo Bills have decided to withdraw from Matt Araiza. On the same subject : A Valley business owner took a 12-year-old entrepreneur under his wing. The team informed the freshman Saturday that he will be released after a civil lawsuit was filed in California accusing him of rape.
Did the Bills Release Araiza?
The Buffalo Bills released freshman Matt Araiza two days after he was accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a 17-year-old girl, the team said on Saturday. “The last 48 hours have been very difficult for many people.
Did Bills release punter?
The Buffalo Bills released punter Matt Araiza, one of the NFL’s rising stars, on Saturday, days after he was charged in a civil trial with raping a teenager at a college party. On the same subject : 2022 State Food Safety Legislation. The move was announced by team general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott.
Did the Bills release Araiza? The Buffalo Bills released freshman Matt Araiza two days after he was accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a 17-year-old girl, the team said on Saturday. “The last 48 hours have been very difficult for many people.
