Accused of RAPE…He’s Been FIRED

The Buffalo Bills has fired rookie punter Matt Araiza, the team confirmed on Saturday. This after Araiza was charged with raping a 17-year-old girl in a civil lawsuit.

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane was forced to fire the team’s rookie punter on Saturday. The team made the decision due to the public response and the graphic details in a lawsuit alleging the punter’s involvement in gang rape of a teen last fall.

The Buffalo Bill’s publicly supported the player two days earlier. Their basis for the support was what the team described as its “thorough examination” of the charges made in the complaint. Since then the Bills have made a significant U-turn by severing connections with the 22-year-old.

“The last 48 hours has been very difficult, for a lot of people. It’s been very tough, 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,”  Brandon Beane said at a press conference Saturday.

“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.”

Head Coach, Sean McDermott, acknowledged that he was aware of the allegation. He did not elaborate on how or when the team knew about it or whether the punter had lied to them.

The civil lawsuit was filed on Thursday in San Diego County Superior Court. It claims that on October 16, 2021, the accuser attended a Halloween party at Araiza’s house. The girl claims that Araiza gave her a drink despite the fact that she was already drunk.

Araiza, who was 21 at the time, then had sex with the high school senior. Afterward he brought her to a room where she allegedly was assaulted by several men for nearly 90 minutes. According to the lawsuit the girl claims the drink “not only contained alcohol but other intoxicating chemicals.”

Mentioned in the case along with Araiza are his former San Diego State teammates Zavier Leonard and Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko.  Although there are only three names mentioned, the accuser believes that she may have been raped by as many as 20 men.

The girl went to the San Diego Police Department the day after the incident took place. She gave her statement  at the time and had a rape kit done. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office informed local news that the SDPD had turned over its investigation to prosecutors for a review of the rape accusation. No criminal charges have been brought yet.

Sources: Dailywire, Nbcnews, Washingtonpost

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