Rookie punter Matt Araiza made first made NFL news for his viral clips and his impressive skills. But in a shocking turn of events, he was accused of gang-raping a then-17-year-old woman during a party, all but putting an end to his popularity.
The Buffalo Bills didn’t hesitate to part ways with him and find a new punter for Josh Allen, as more disturbing details continue to emerge.
Araiza Downplays Situation In Statement
Araiza has been the main target of memes, edited videos, insults, and whatnot around the NFL community, which is why he released a statement trying to downplay the situation and deny any wrongdoing:
“The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press. I look forward to quickly setting the record straight,” the statement read.
Araiza’s Parents Came To His Defense
Matt Araiza’s parents also took to social media to express their solidarity with their son. Per his folks, he’s being convicted based solely on what the victim has said and he hasn’t had a fair chance to defend himself:
“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,” read the statement. “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”
Redditors Rip Araiza
Needless to say, neither of those statements did anything to appease the audience. If anything, people all over the web were livid and don’t seem to trust Araiza or his parents and don’t even want to keep digging into this disturbing case:
“I’m not sure I want to hear any more facts. Pretty disturbing so far,” one user wrote. “In my time on this earth I’ve learned the people who say ‘the truth will come out and exonerate me’ but then don’t explain what actually happened generally don’t actually want the truth to come out,” another one added.
“He’s gonna have a real hard time based on the info that’s come out so far,” wrote Redditor Some Guy On The Internet. “The phone call is pretty damning. It seems like, at the very least, he had sex with a heavily intoxicated minor while having an STD that he didn’t disclose until later.”
Araiza’s NFL Future Is A Blur At Best
As you may know by now, the National Football League cannot punish him or discipline him in any way, as the allegations come from a time before he was drafted and an NFL employee. That’s why the Bills parted ways with him in the midst of this turmoil.
The league has often looked the other way after scandals and infamous situations. But it seems unlikely that they’re going to allow the rookie out of San Diego State to pad up ever again, even if he comes out as innocent.
