Buffalo Bills Punter Matt Araiza Accused of Rape: Details Emerge of When Team Became Aware of Allegations

Troubling allegations have been made against Buffalo Bills rookie punter Matt Araiza in a lawsuit filed accusing him and two others of rape.

According to the lawsuit, which was reviewed by ESPN, Araiza is accused of raping a 17-year-old high school student last year when he was at San Diego State. At the time, Araiza was 21-years-old. Araiza and two former teammates are named in the lawsuit and accused of rape, gender violence and false imprisonment. The lawsuit was filed in San Diego County Superior Court.

The Buffalo Bills put out a statement on the allegations involving their 2022 sixth-round draft pick.

“We were recently made aware of a civil complaint involving Matt from October 2021,” the statement reads. “Due to the serious nature of the complaint, we conducted a thorough examination of this matter. As this is an ongoing civil case legal, we will have no other comment at this point.”

The woman in question, who is referred to as Jane Doe, also put out a statement via her attorney:

“This was a horrific crime, the kind of which happens all too often. What makes these crimes different is not only that they were committed by self-entitled athletes. Just as awful as the crimes, for months, multiple organizations — SDSU, the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego District Attorney, and now the Buffalo Bills — have acted the part of enablers looking the other way in denial that my client deserves justice even if the defendants are prized athletes.”

According to reports, Buffalo allegedly didn’t know of the alleged assault when it selected Araiza in the draft, but found out about shortly after.

MORE: @news4buffalo can confirm the #Bills org knew about the allegations, at the latest, on July 31, per an email obtained by @haprusak between the Bills and the accuser’s attorney. Araiza was named the starter Monday, Aug 22.

— Dave Greber (@DaveGreber4) August 26, 2022

The Athletic is reporting that the Bills have known of the alleged incident since July.

“Source tells me the Bills were made aware of the accusations against Araiza last month. They did not know when they drafted him, but did know when they cut Matt Haack on Monday.”

The Buffalo Bills selected Araiza in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft. He was named the team’s starter earlier in the week when the team cut Matt Haack.

The Bills are set to play the Carolina Panthers in their preseason finale at 7 p.m. ET Friday. Araiza is expected to play.

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