The Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza was released two days ago following a lawsuit filed alleging his sexual assault, reported Alaina Getzenberg for ESPN. At San Diego State, Matt Araiza was alleged of gang-raping a minor with two of his former teammates. All three have been accused of rape, gender violence, and false imprisonment. Some of the Buffalo Bills officials have come out and expressed their opinions and feelings on the matter.
“This is bigger than football,” Bill’s general manager Brandon Beane said Saturday night. “Let’s just step back and [let Araiza] handle this. That’s what we thought was most important.” Ultimately, the Bills ended up releasing Matt Araiza until these allegations are settled and the dust settles. To be fair, this would bring bad publicity and uncalled-for drama within the locker room that could be avoided. The possibility of the Bills reaching the Super Bowl has greatly increased after this off-season. However, distractions and miscellaneous activities of players can jeopardize the entirety of the operation at stake!
Buffalo Bills Discipline Araiza
Araiza did not report to practice Saturday evening after being benched in the pre-season game against the Carolina Panthers. Being benched actually wasn’t harsh enough, in fact, he wasn’t even allowed to be on the sidelines while the game was being played or to be in the locker room. Oddly, he returned back to Buffalo on the team plane. However up until this point, he’s yet to speak to any reporters.”The truth about the incident differs from how it is depicted in the lawsuit or media. I am eager to promptly clarify the facts.”
“Given the gravity of the situation and the allegations, we are unable to gather all the necessary information,” Beane commented.”There are different accounts of the events, and Sean McDermott is a football coach while I am a GM. We don’t have full access to all the information, and that takes precedence over football. Our priority is for Matt to concentrate on that.”
Beane acknowledged he was informed of the situation prior to the incident being released to the public. However, there were details that needed to be sorted out prior to disciplining Ariaza. “Doing the best we could with our resources, talking to the league, using our people to try and find information,” Beane said of the team’s investigation. “But ultimately, there’s a lot of things that we have not pieced together even today. We’re just trying to do the best we could and be thoughtful and not rush to judgment.”
Details of the Lawsuit
The lawsuit accuses Araiza of having sex with a 17-year-old high school senior when he was 21-years-old. In the state of California, this proves to be under the age of consent. October 2021 while outside an off-campus part, Ariaza took her inside the home, where at least three other men were located; and they repeatedly gang-raped her for about an hour.
The other two defendants in the suit are Zavier Leonard and Nowlin Ewaliko. The lawsuit claims that the assailant forcibly removed both the belly button and ear piercings, causing bleeding in the vaginal area. Araiza’s attorney, Kerry Armstrong, told reporters these allegations are “just untrue.”
Armstrong expressed, “I’m certain he feels extremely upset and let down that his time with the Bills came to an end, not due to his poor performance, but because of false accusations made by a young woman and her lawyer. I hope he returns to the NFL in the near future.”
