The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs signed punter Matt Arraiza after a woman dropped a rape lawsuit against him in December. The Buffalo Bills fired Araiza just days after the lawsuit was filed in August 2022, during his rookie season, and Araiza has been out of the NFL ever since. He has always maintained his innocence.
“I am proud and honored to have signed with the @Chiefs,” Araiza said in a statement released through his agent. ESPN reported. “I am excited to continue my NFL career. I would like to thank my family for being my rock and my many friends for their unwavering support. I am excited to begin the next phase of my NFL career. I’m excited.” Super Bowl Champion! ”
ESPN reported that Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March, adding that Townsend is a first-team All-Pro and was selected to the 2022 Pro Bowl.
What is your background?
Araiza was known as the “Punting God” at San Diego State and averaged 51.19 yards per punt in the 2021 college season, an NCAA single-season record. The Buffalo News reported.added that he won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best college punter.
Araiza appeared to win the punting job during the Buffalo Bills’ 2022 training camp, but the team fired him two days after the rape accusation. According to the Buffalo News, Araiza has a four-year contract with the Bills, worth $3.8 million if he plays all four years. Araiza ended up sitting out the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
The San Diego District Attorney’s Office said Araiza could not be involved in the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old boy in October 2021 because he had left an off-campus party at least an hour before the alleged incident. I concluded. Araiza said he had consensual sex with his accuser outside his home earlier in the evening, but said he never went inside the home, ESPN noted, and the district attorney’s office said Araiza It added that he could not prove that he knew the accuser’s age or level of intoxication. Prosecutors announced in December 2022 that they would not file criminal charges against Araiza. ESPN also reported that San Diego State University announced in May that an investigation into allegations of rape and gang rape found no findings against Araiza.
Along with her accuser, known as Jane Doe, Araiza agreed to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against her in July 2023. ESPN said. In another report.
Araiza’s attorneys, Dick Semerjian and Kristen Bush, said in a statement that Araiza has always maintained his innocence and will never get back the time he spent defending himself against the charges, ESPN added.
“Thankfully, there was extensive evidence that was key to securing Matt’s voluntary dismissal from this case,” the statement said, according to ESPN. “Matt has always been and always will be innocent. The case is over and Matt won.”
The Bills took different approaches to each player.
About a week before the rape case against Araiza was dismissed, Bills general manager Brandon Beane said: Said Linebacker Von Miller, who was accused of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend, was allowed to play in the game against the Chiefs while the legal process progresses.
“The facts that we know about Miller are limited,” Bean said at a news conference. “If you look around this country, there’s a lot of things that are forcing us to make hasty decisions. … We’re just trying to do the right thing.”
Regarding the Bills’ decision to release Araiza just days after the rape accusation, Beane said at the time that “the best thing for everyone was to step away from Matt and let him handle this situation,” according to The Buffalo News. Reported.
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