It cannot be overstated: this incident ruined this kid’s life. And it was all a lie. The wheels of justice spin slowly, which applies to all parties involved—guilty and innocent. We’ve all read stories of being exonerated for crimes they never committed years, even decades, after they were wrongly convicted. And for the worst of society, the true cancers, like murderers, rapists, and child abusers, it also takes time to lock them up. For those on death row, that wait is also exceedingly long. In some cases, the state moves so slowly in disposing of our most depraved convicts that they live to see their respective state legislatures abolish capital punishment. Yet, throughout it all, those who are wrongfully accused are powerless to see their life and reputations burned to ash. That’s exactly what happened to former Buffalo Bills’ punter Matt Araiza.
Selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft, Araiza seemed groomed to become the franchise’s long-term answer at the position. Then came the allegation that he was involved in a gang rape while attending San Diego State. Already declared guilty by the court of public opinion and those who manage the Bills’ public image, Araiza was cut from the team before the start of the official season that year (via Bills Wire):
We have released Punter Matt Araiza. pic.twitter.com/dlmKJnEj7v
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 27, 2022
The Buffalo Bills have released punter Matt Araiza amid a backlash of criticism after the rookie was accused in a gang-rape lawsuit this week. Adam Schefter was the first to report the news, and general manager Brandon Beane confirmed it during a press conference on Saturday.
… Araiza was one of three football players named in a civil lawsuit that accuses them of raping a 17-year-old girl last year while they attended San Diego State.
In the initial wake of the lawsuit, the team released a statement that noted the organization “conducted a thorough examination” of the situation involving Araiza.
Reports indicate the team knew about a potential lawsuit as early as late July. Teams aconduct extensive background checks on potential draft picks. Araiza was a sixth-round selection by Buffalo in April’s draft.
Recommended
In the 'Me Too' era, erring on caution instead of verifying the facts is the default position. August 27, 2022, was when Araiza’s short-lived NFL career ended. Months later, the truth was revealed: Araiza was innocent, not even present when the alleged rape occurred. And it’s not just him; the two other students were also cleared in the investigation (via ESPN):
Prosecutors said Matt Araiza was not present when an alleged gang rape of a minor occurred at an Oct 2021 party, according to witness testimony that prompted the San Diego DA to not press criminal charges against the former Bills punter, via @agetzenberg.https://t.co/E3cLK4Vtql
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 9, 2023
Prosecutors said Matt Araiza was not present when an alleged gang rape of a minor occurred at an October 2021 party, according to witness testimony included in evidence that prompted the San Diego District Attorney to not press criminal charges against the former Buffalo Bills punter.
Araiza, a former punter at San Diego State, also was not visible in any of the videos recovered from the night in question, according to audio from a meeting between San Diego deputy district attorney Trisha Amador and the woman who filed a civil lawsuit last year against Araiza and two of his former Aztecs teammates.
ESPN has obtained and reviewed over 1 hour and 41 minutes' worth of audio from the Dec. 7, 2022, meeting attended by Amador, the woman, the woman's attorney, district attorney investigator Ted Mansour and her selected victim advocate.
The purpose of the meeting was largely for Amador to explain why criminal charges could not be filed based on what could be proved and answer any questions that the woman and her representation may have. The San Diego Police Department concluded its investigation in August 2022.
Amador told the woman that Araiza left the off-campus party about an hour before the time of the alleged gang rape, according to a witness.
Amador said Araiza is "alleged to have left the party at 12:30" and was not "even at the party anymore" when some of the alleged gang rape occurred at 1:30 a.m. PT, according to the available video time stamps from the encounter that were found by the DA.
And yes, Mr. Araiza now plans to file lawsuits, specifically against the lawyer representing the woman who made the false allegation against him (via NBC News):
“I’ve already hired an attorney for it, and things have already been drafted,” Araiza tells Kremer. “I will never waive my right to sue him. That’s coming.”
The reference to waiving his right to sue Gilleon suggests that any settlement of the claims being made by the alleged victim would include a waiver of any claims Araiza could make against the alleged victim or Gilleon.
Gilleon also was interviewed. He vowed to move forward with the lawsuit against Araiza. But Gilleon’s story has shifted a bit, apparently, as to the core allegations of gang rape against Araiza. Given a conclusion by the prosecutor’s office that Araiza was gone from the party before the alleged gang rape happened, Gilleon has offered a revised version of the facts.
“We are not saying that he was, and we are not saying that he wasn’t,” Gilleon said. “Let’s say he was not one of the men in there. That doesn’t absolve him of liability.”
The new theory seems to be that Araiza and others had a scheme that involved targeting the alleged victim, getting her drunk, and then having sex with her. As Kremer notes, this specific theory does not appear in the civil complaint filed last August.
He didn’t do it. It’s the dark side of the 'Me Too' era: women can lie about rape. They’re human, just as susceptible to greed, manipulation, deceit, and ruthlessness as the rest of us. The adage that such a damning allegation would never be brought up unless the supposed victim was telling the truth doesn’t hold up anymore with the proliferation of social media. These allegations receive immense attention, especially concerning the media industry and professional sports. Being a victim is also profitable for those who play this sick, twisted game at the expense of actual rape victims. And because this crime has been put on a pedestal, it makes the fabricated sexual assaults more devastating regarding obtaining justice for real victims.
The mantra was ‘believe all women,’ which quickly died when many liberal men started getting caught up in the mayhem. Then, some decided to take this ‘Me too’ card for a spin, claiming that mere bad dates were sexual assaults. Comedian Aziz Ansari almost had his career destroyed over such spurious claims.
And let’s not forget the 2014 gang rape of “Jackie” at the University of Virginia that never happened, which led to Rolling Stone and its reporters, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, getting sued and convicted of libel over their piece. Erdely was slapped with a $2 million judgment personally. The piece is an example of what not to do regarding investigative journalism, earning top honors for failing to do the basics from Columbia Journalism Review and Poynter Institute that year. You knew trouble was brewing when T. Rees Shapiro, a then-education reporter for The Washington Post, was able to dissect and easily debunk most of the piece's core claims in a few articles. When the jury found the magazine guilty of libel in 2016, the publication’s lawyer, Scott Sexton, did not mince words regarding the massive failure we were all witnesses to, saying that the destruction of Erdely’s journalism career was just the tip of the iceberg.
“The magazine’s editorial staff was no match for Jackie…she deceived us, and we do know it was purposeful,” he said.
It sounds like Mr. Araiza was a victim of another woman who was good at telling fantastic tales. The 2006 Duke Lacrosse team knows that all too well, victims of a fake rape allegation compounded by a rogue local prosecutor eager to sacrifice these young men’s lives to get re-elected.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member