Buffalo Bills rookie punter Matt Araiza, who on Thursday was accused in a civil lawsuit of taking part in the gang rape of a minor during an off-campus party at San Diego State University in 2021, released a statement Friday stating he is looking forward to “setting the record straight.”
“The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press,” Araiza said in the statement obtained by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. “I look forward to quickly setting the record straight.”
Araiza did not play Friday in his team’s preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers. Araiza traveled with the team to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday and was in attendance pregame on Friday. He is currently the only punter on the Bills’ roster. Buffalo’s backup quarterback Matt Barkley punted for the team on Friday.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott spoke to the media for the first time since the lawsuit was filed. He said Araiza would return home with the team and declined to go into whether he believed Araiza would remain with the team past Tuesday’s final roster cuts.
“I understand that there was a game just played, but I want to talk about something that’s more important, which is what we have going on with one of our members of our team right now, the Matt Araiza situation that is extremely serious,” McDermott said to begin his postgame news conference. “Just hard to go through and it’s not a situation that I or we take lightly whatsoever, and it’s very serious. I understand the sensitivity of the situation, and it’s clear we have work to do to continue to figure this thing out here, and we’re going to do that.”
McDermott said it was his decision for Araiza not to play Friday, adding, “at the end of the day, I didn’t feel it was right to do that.”
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in San Diego County Superior Court, alleges Araiza had sex with a then-17-year-old girl at an off-campus home, where Araiza resided, and then took her to a room where she was repeatedly raped. Araiza was accused along with two other football players: Zavier Leonard, currently on the San Diego State roster; and Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko, who is not listed on the team’s current roster. Araiza was a star punter for SDSU as a redshirt junior in 2021, winning the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best punter before foregoing his senior season to enter the 2022 NFL Draft.
No arrests have been made and San Diego Police have not publicly identified any suspects, according to the Associated Press.
“We were recently made aware of a civil complaint involving Matt from October 2021,” the Bills said in a statement on Thursday, obtained by NFL Network’s Mike Giardi. “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.”
When asked Friday if he believed the team had done its due diligence in looking into the matter in regard to the statement issued by the team, McDermott said he would not “go into details on that.”
“It’s just a matter of trying to find the truth at the end of the day, that’s the goal is find the truth and do the right thing,” McDermott said, “And that’s what I keep coming back to in my mind and my heart, is find out the truth to the best of my ability, and do the right thing.”
The NFL’s Personnel Conduct Policy does not apply to incidents that take place prior to a player being drafted or joining a team. If criminal charges are filed against Araiza, however, he would then be subject to a league investigation and potential disciplinary action, per the league policy.
Kerry Armstrong, Araiza’s attorney, has denied the rape accusation, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Araiza was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 draft.
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