Alaina GetzenbergESPN
ORCHARD PARK, NY – The Buffalo Bills released punter Matt Araiza two days after a civil lawsuit was filed alleging he and two other current and former San Diego State football players raped a minor. Araiza was not at practice Saturday after sitting out Friday’s preseason game against the Carolina Panthers and was not on the sideline during the game or in the locker room after the game. He traveled back to Buffalo, New York on the group plane. In a postgame news conference Friday, manager Sean McDermott declined to comment on Araiza’s condition or exactly what the team knew before the lawsuit was filed. McDermott said there was “some” new information within 24 hours of the lawsuit being filed, but would not comment on whether he felt Araiza had lied to him or the team. “It’s just a matter of trying to find the truth at the end of the day, right,” McDermott said. “That’s the goal is to find the truth and do the right thing. And that’s what I come back to in my mind and in my heart is to find out the truth to the best of my ability and do the right thing.” In a statement released Thursday, the group said it was “conducting a thorough review of this matter.”
1 Related The lawsuit alleges that Araiza, who was 21 at the time, had sex with a then-17-year-old high school senior, who was under the age of consent in California, outside an off-campus party held at his residence in the early morning hours. on Oct. 17, 2021. Later, according to the suit, Araiza then brought her inside the home, where at least three other men, including the other two defendants named in the suit, Zavier Leonard, a redshirt freshman with the Aztecs, and Identified Nowlin Ewaliko who is no longer on the team’s roster. She was then raped repeatedly for about an hour and a half. Araiza’s criminal attorney, Kerry Armstrong, told ESPN that his client spoke to the girl at the party, but that the rape allegations are “simply untrue.” Armstrong also said he understood Araiza did not inform the Bills of the matter until after an LA Times article, published June 3, said rape allegations against five Aztecs football players had not been investigated by his State San Diego. McDermott declined to comment on when the Bills learned of the allegations. A criminal investigation is ongoing into the alleged events, as well as an investigation by San Diego State under California State University system policy. The NFL said in a statement that it was aware of the incident but declined to comment. Because the alleged rape occurred before Araiza was drafted, he will not be subject to the league’s personal conduct policy. The Bills released 2021 player of the year Matt Haack on Monday, naming Araiza the player of the year for the 2022 season. He was the only player on the team’s roster with quarterback Matt Barkley playing four times for the Bills against the Panthers. Araiza was drafted by the Bills in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
