Rookie punter Matt Araiza and two of his former college teammates are facing some extremely troubling allegations, and it turns out the Buffalo Bills have known about the situation for quite some time.
A civil lawsuit was filed on Thursday in San Diego County Superior Court that alleges Araiza and two current San Diego State football players gang-raped a then-17-year-old girl. According to Tim Graham of The Athletic, the Bills have known about the allegations for several weeks.
Dan Gilleon, the attorney representing the reported victim, also shared some screenshots of text messages that prove both Araiza and the Bills were made aware of the allegations as far back as July. Gilleon reached out to Araiza on July 30. He received a response from Araiza’s lawyer Kerry Armstrong, and the two exchanged some unpleasantries.
The victim, now 18, says in the suit that she was sexually assaulted at an off-campus party that began on the night of Oct. 16, with the assault occurring early the next day. The woman was in high school at the time of the alleged incident.
Araiza was a star punter on the Aztecs last year before being drafted by the Bills in April. Zavier Leonard and Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko are the other players who were named in the suit. Leonard is listed on the Aztecs roster as a redshirt freshman, while Ewaliko was a freshman on last year’s roster but is not on the current roster.
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