The Buffalo Bills have parted ways with rookie Matt Araiza two days after he was accused in a civil lawsuit of gang-raping a minor when he was attending college in 2021.
“We decided that releasing Matt Araiza was the best thing to do,” Buffalo Bills General Manager Brandon Beane said during a press conference Saturday. “Our culture in Buffalo is more important than winning football games.”
Araiza, a punter who earned the nickname “Punt God” for his kicking in college, was selected by Buffalo out of San Diego State University in the sixth round of the NFL Draft in April. The Bills had named Araiza their starting punter this week.
GM Brandon Beane: This afternoon, we decided that releasing Matt Araiza was the best thing to do. Our culture in Buffalo is more important than winning football games. pic.twitter.com/soHPcePFxz
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Araiza is one of three men accused of a gang rape involving a 17-year-old girl while playing for San Diego State, according to the Los Angeles Times. The lawsuit reportedly claims Araiza, 22, had sex with the girl outside a home hosting an off-campus party and that the girl was then brought inside the house, where she was repeatedly raped.
“The last 48 hours has been very difficult, for a lot of people. It’s been very tough,” Beane said. “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.”
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“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,” Beane added. “This is bigger than football.”
Dan Gilleon, a lawyer who represents the California teenager in the lawsuit, said he has not heard from team officials since first informing them of the allegations in late July, according to the Associated Press. “I even followed up and said, ‘Hey, you guys haven’t talked to me and called me back like you said you would.’ And they just ignored that, too,” he said.
Beane said he could not remember if the punter or Gilleon contacted the team first but that both happened around the same time.
“We tried to be thorough and thoughtful and not rush to judgment, and I would say it’s not easy. You’re trying to put facts around a legal situation sometimes with limited information,” Beane noted during the press conference. “There are many things that we could not get our hands on. This was about letting Matt go handle his situation.”
Araiza was held out of the Bill’s preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on Friday and was not at practice Saturday.
In a statement, per ESPN, Araiza’s criminal attorney Kerry Armstrong said, “I am sure he is very upset and disappointed that his career with the Bills ended not because he played poorly, but because of false allegations leveled against him by a young lady and her attorney. I hope he is back in the NFL soon.”
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The NFL has so far declined to comment except to say it was aware of the matter.
