Rob Maaddi, FISM News
Matt Araiza lost his job with the Buffalo Bills amidst strong public backlash after the rookie punter was accused of gang-raping a teenager while still in college.
Araiza, nicknamed the “Punt God” at San Diego State, was drafted by the Bills in the sixth round of the NFL draft in April. He was awarded the starting job last week despite the team recently becoming aware of the allegations against him.
On Thursday, a lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court accused Araiza and two of his former teammates of raping a then-17-year-old girl at a Halloween party last fall at an off-campus home where Araiza had been living. A San Diego police investigation has been turned over to the district attorney’s office to determine whether to pursue charges. DA spokeswoman Tanya Sierra said Friday there was no timeline as to how long a decision will take.
Initially, the Bills said: “We were recently made aware of a civil complaint involving Matt from October 2021. Due to the serious nature of the complaint, we conducted a thorough examination of this matter. As this is an ongoing civil case, we will have no other comment at this point.”
Bills coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane acknowledged the investigation was incomplete and released Araiza on Saturday.
“The last 48 hours have been very difficult, for a lot of people. It’s been very tough,” Beane said at a press conference after the decision was made. “We sympathize with this whole situation, all the parties involved. This young woman, what she went through. You really feel bad for that whole situation. Ultimately, this is a legal situation – we don’t know all the facts. That’s what makes it hard. But at this time, we just think it’s the best move for everyone to move on from Matt and let him take care of this situation and focus on that, so we’re going to part ways there.”
A Bills spokesperson said the team learned about the situation in late July. They chose to keep Araiza on the roster and cut veteran Matt Haack last Monday. However, they said they weren’t fully aware of the details when they made that decision.
“With the serious nature and allegations, and we just can’t, we don’t have the means to put all the facts together,” Beane said. “There’s multiple versions of what happened, and (Sean is) a football coach, I’m a GM. We don’t have access to everything, and so that’s more important than playing football. And so, we want Matt to focus on that.”
Araiza issued a statement through his agent, Joe Linta, which read: “The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press. I look forward to quickly setting the record straight.”
The incident is the latest in a long list of troubling, off-field behavior by NFL players. Araiza’s case comes fresh after the NFL suspending Browns’ star quarterback Deshaun Watson for 11 games for sexual misconduct. The league didn’t act quickly against Araiza because the incident occurred while he was in college and, thus, it wasn’t subject to the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
However, by releasing Araiza, the Bills took control of the situation.
“We don’t have all the answers,” Beane said. “We’re not perfect. But I can tell you, as Sean said earlier, we just tried to do what was right. And has everything been perfect? No. But in our heart of hearts, I can lay my head down at night knowing that I’ve tried to do what’s right, and I know he has, too.”
Araiza won the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s top punter in college football. He wasn’t, however, the first of four punters drafted. Penn State’s Jordan Stout was selected in the fourth round at 130 overall by the Ravens, and Georgia’s Jake Camarda was taken by the Buccaneers three picks later.