Matt Araiza’s time as the Bills punter has come to an end. Buffalo released the rookie less than 48 hours after he was accused in a civil lawsuit of taking part in a gang rape while in college at San Diego State.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott made the announcement at a news conference just before 8 p.m. ET Saturday.
“This is bigger than football,” Beane said of the team’s decision to part with Araiza.
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Araiza is accused of raping a 17-year-old girl at an off-campus party in October 2021. Two other Aztec players — Zavier Leonard and Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko — were named in the lawsuit as well. Araiza said in a statement Friday “the facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press.”
The Bills said Thursday they “conducted a thorough examination of this matter” after they were made aware of the lawsuit. The Bills reportedly were informed of the allegations in July but opted to keep Araiza on their training camp roster.
MORE: Details of the gang rape allegations against Matt Araiza
Why didn’t the Bills release Araiza right away?
Beane said that the team was trying to sort through the facts of the case with the information it had been given.
“We tried to be thorough and thoughtful and not rush to judgment, and I would say it’s not easy,” he said. “You’re trying to put facts around a legal situation sometimes with limited information.”
What changed over the last 48 hours that caused the Bills to change course?
Beane said that the team couldn’t get enough information to feel comfortable about keeping Araiza on the roster.
In our society, you hear things, you try and go find out what’s factual and what’s an accusation. That’s the best we can do. Ultimately, we don’t know. We’re not detectives. We don’t have the evidence. There are many things that we could not get our hands on through the resources that we have. This was about — not a football move — but letting Matt go handle that situation.
Beane said that stating the team’s investigation was “completed” was a poor choice on the franchise’s part. He said it was “ongoing” before the lawsuit was filed.
MORE: Bills’ Sean McDermott addresses allegations against Matt Araiza
Beane also told reporters that the Bills had asked around the NFL, and he claimed that no team knew the depth of the allegations against Araiza.
“We did not know about this and the league did not know about this,” Beane said. “We’ve reached out to double-digit teams, and no one knew about this. You know how important character is to Sean and me. Anything that would’ve been lingering, he would’ve been off our [draft] board.”
That may be true, but it is noteworthy that the Bills declared Araiza the winner of the team’s punter competition weeks after reportedly learning of the allegations. They released Matt Haack on Aug. 22.
The lawsuit forced the team to change its stance on Araiza. Beane believes that cutting the rookie was the right decision.
“Ultimately, we thought it was best for everybody. It’s a very serious situation, and we don’t have the means to put all the facts together,” he said.
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