On Thursday night a disturbing report from the Los Angeles Times revealed a lawsuit against Buffalo Bills starting punter Matt Araiza accusing the sixth-round rookie of gang rape dating back to his days at San Diego State University. With less than three weeks to go before the start of the regular season, now the Bills are working on uncovering the specifics of the allegations surrounding their punter with the clock winding down.
Last year’s starter, Matt Haack, was released earlier in the week, leaving the team without another option on the roster. The Bills are at 80 players right now, yet have to get down to 53 players by Tuesday’s roster cutdown date. On Friday night in the team’s preseason finale, the Bills turned to third-string quarterback Matt Barkley for punting duties, revealing just how different a situation this is.
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Matt Araiza’s statement goes against allegations
As for Araiza and his camp, they continue to suggest the first-year punter’s story is much different than what’s been suggested publicly thus far.
“The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press. I look forward to quickly setting the record straight.”
Statement from Matt Araiza regarding rape incident
The Bills also released a statement on Thursday, stating they “conducted a thorough examination,” but since it is an ongoing civil case, they would not have any further comment on the matter.
It is unknown when or how Araiza plans to “quickly set the record straight” on the matter, but we’ll be tuning in to find out.
Buffalo’s regular season kicks off Thursday, September 8, against the Los Angeles Rams. We’ll see how they continue to handle Araiza’s sudden delicate situation.
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