Bills release rookie punter Matt Araiza effective immediately
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bills released rookie punter, Matt Araiza on Saturday. Araiza has been accused, along with two others, of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl last year in a civil lawsuit filed on Thursday.
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Araiza, did not play in Friday’s preseason game against the Carolina Panthers. This decision came just one day after news broke about a civil lawsuit against Araiza.
Araiza just became the punter for the Bills on Monday, after they cut Matt Haack.
News 10NBC will update the story as we learn more.
The family of Araiza released this statement:
“The rule of law is innocent until proven guilty. That is not our experience. There has been war waged on our son. He has been tried and convicted in the media based on information released solely from the alleged victim and her attorney, much of it through social media. People have taken his information as factual, when it is not. We do not wish this experience on anyone but question why our son is the only one receiving this kind of treatment by social media and national news media. The vitriol has been on him alone. He has been extorted, discriminated against, harassed and the subject of multiple and continuous threats of violence and death. He has been released from his job and our entire family continues to receive horrific threats of violence and death. We have all been canceled. Every member of our family. Salacious rumors grew as fact. There are multiple witness reports to deny the claims that are made against him. The legal system is designed to find the facts and make decisions. They should be allowed to do that.”