Editor’s note: This story contains alleged accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org
Bills rookie punter Matt Araiza didn’t play in Friday night’s preseason finale against the Panthers after he was formally accused of participating in a gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at an off-campus party last year, according to a lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court on Thursday.
While Buffalo reportedly did not know of the alleged incident at the time of drafting Araiza, the team did know when it cut Matt Haack, leaving the rookie as the only punter on the roster.
In the wake of the allegations, Araiza issued his first public statement on the matter.
“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,” Araiza said, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The lawsuit comes nearly two months after the Los Angeles Times reported that five members of the San Diego State football team were reported to campus officials for a rape that was alleged to have taken place at a house party off-campus.
Per the lawsuit filed on Thursday, Araiza allegedly raped a minor outside of the residence where the party took place before bringing her inside to a room where the girl recalls being raped by multiple men. Araiza was named in the lawsuit alongside former teammates Zavier Leonard, who is a redshirt freshman at San Diego State, and Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko, who left the program following last season.
Per the complaint, after the assault the girl “stumbled out of the room bloody and crying. Her nose, bellybutton, and ear piercings had been pulled out, and she was also bleeding from her vagina.”
Araiza recently won the starting punter job in training camp with Buffalo over Haack, who was cut earlier this week. When contacted, the Bills declined comment citing an “ongoing civil case” but said that they did a “thorough investigation on the matter.”
Because the incident occurred while Araiza was still in college, he is not subject to discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
