Bills’ Araiza Won’t Punt vs. Panthers Amid Rape Allegations, per Report

The punter was named in a rape lawsuit that included two other 2021 San Diego State football players.

Editors’ note: This story contains 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 punter Matt Araiza will not dress for Buffalo on Friday for the team’s final preseason game vs. Carolina, per The Athletic’s Tim Graham. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported that Araiza wouldn’t punt during the game.

On Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported that a lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court named Araiza as was one of three members of the 2021 San Diego State football team to be formally accused of gang raping a 17-year-old girl at a party last fall. 

According to the suit, the then-17-year-old girl said she was already drinking with friends before attending the party, which was located where Araiza lived. She added Araiza offered her a drink that she thinks “not only contained alcohol, but other intoxicating substances.”

From there, the lawsuit claims the girl told Araiza that she was in high school, but he still forced her her into oral and vaginal penetration outside of the residence. Then, the girl says Araiza allegedly took her inside a bedroom where three other men raped her for an hour and a half until the party ended.

According to 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.”

Along with Araiza, current San Diego State offensive lineman Zavier Leonard and former defensive lineman Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko are also named in the suit. San Diego State opened a Title IX investigation into the incident nine months after the assault allegedly occurred.

Araiza’s lawyer, Kerry Armstrong, called the allegations false and claims it is a “shakedown” since Araiza is in the NFL.

Graham reports Buffalo became aware of the alleged incident last month, and therefore did not know of the allegations when they drafted Araiza in the sixth round of the 2022 draft. However, according to Graham, the Bills knew when they cut the only other punter on the roster, Matt Haack, and named Araiza the starter on Monday. Additionally, the Bills reportedly never reached out to the plaintiff in the lawsuit, per Graham.

Buffalo denied to comment on what they called an “ongoing civil case,” and the team argued they did a “thorough investigation on the matter.”

Since Araiza is currently the only punter on the roster, it is unclear how Buffalo will handle both punting during Friday’s game. Araiza also handles holding during field goal attempts for the Bills.

Araiza is not subject to NFL discipline since the incident occurred while he was in college.