Charges release Matt Araiza pursuing gang rape allegation

Heather Hamilton

August 28, 08:40 AM August 28, 08:40 AM

The Buffalo Bills have parted ways with rookie Matt Araiza two days following he was accused in a civil lawsuit of gang-raping a slight when he was attending university in 2021.

“We made a decision that releasing Matt Araiza was the ideal point to do,” Buffalo Expenditures Normal Supervisor Brandon Beane mentioned during a push conference Saturday. “Our tradition in Buffalo is a lot more critical than successful soccer video games.”

Araiza, a punter who acquired the nickname "Punt God" for his kicking in university, was chosen by Buffalo out of San Diego Condition College in the sixth round of the NFL Draft in April. The Expenses had named Araiza its commencing punter this week.

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Araiza is 1 of 3 males accused of a gang-rape involving a 17-year-aged lady while participating in for San Diego State, in accordance to the Los Angeles Instances. The lawsuit reportedly claims Araiza, 22, experienced intercourse with the woman exterior a property internet hosting an off-campus bash and the girl was then introduced within the property the place she was continuously raped.

"The very last 48 several hours has been pretty tough, for a good deal of persons. It is really been incredibly tough," Beane claimed. "We sympathize with this entire predicament, all the get-togethers concerned. This younger girl, what she went by means of. You seriously really feel poor for that whole scenario. Finally, this is a authorized problem — we don't know all the details. That is what would make it challenging.”

"But at this time, we just assume it can be the ideal shift for all people to move on from Matt and enable him choose care of this situation and emphasis on that, so we're likely to section means there,” Beane extra. “This is even larger than football."

Dan Gilleon, a law firm who signifies the California teenager in the lawsuit, said he has not listened to from workforce officials due to the fact initially informing them of the allegations in late July, according to the Associated Push. "I even followed up and reported, `Hey, you guys haven’t talked to me and known as me back like you mentioned you would.′ And they just dismissed that, as well," he claimed.

Beane explained he could not don't forget if the punter or Gilleon contacted the staff to start with but that the two took place close to the identical time.

"We experimented with to be comprehensive and thoughtful and not hurry to judgment, and I would say it's not quick. You happen to be striving to set information about a authorized problem at times with confined facts," Beane observed during the press convention. "There are quite a few factors that we could not get our fingers on. This was about allowing Matt go take care of his scenario.”

Araiza was held out of the Bill’s preseason match in opposition to the Carolina Panthers on Friday and was not at observe Saturday.

In a statement, for every ESPN, Araiza’s criminal attorney Kerry Armstrong reported: "I am certain he is incredibly upset and let down that his vocation with the Charges ended not due to the fact he performed improperly, but since of phony allegations leveled from him by a younger lady and her legal professional. I hope he is again in the NFL shortly.''

The NFL has so considerably declined to remark apart from to say it was knowledgeable of the issue.