Matt Araiza was drafted by the Bills in the sixth round but never played a regular season after being accused of rape. He was never criminally charged and the civil case against him was dropped. (Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Content warning: This story contains depictions of alleged sexual assault.
A woman who once claimed she was sexually abused by former NFL player Matt Araiza, including in a violent gang rape, has agreed to dismiss her civil lawsuit against him.
Authorities in San Diego, where the alleged incident occurred in 2021, had previously declined to prosecute Araiza and even noted that Araiza was not at the party when the alleged gang rape occurred.
An uproar following the filing of the civil lawsuit in August 2022 led the Buffalo Bills to cut Araiza, a rookie who was then selected in the sixth round of the draft. He hasn't played in the NFL since.
Araiza does not make any monetary payments to the woman and does not admit guilt. In exchange for her dropping her civil lawsuit, he agreed to drop his own defamation lawsuit against the woman, Araiza's lawyer told Yahoo Sports. Araiza retains his right to sue the woman's attorney, Dan Gilleon.
“The victory is bittersweet,” said Araiza’s lawyer, Dick Semerdjian. “For the past 16 months, Matt has been forced to defend himself against false allegations and a campaign designed to ruin his NFL career. He will never get that time in his life back.”
The initial claims were graphic and disturbing. The then-17-year-old woman alleged that Araiza, a star player at San Diego State, was involved in a violent sexual assault that included putting her in a bedroom with numerous other men. The lawsuit said: “Araiza threw [the girl] laid face first on the bed,” and she suffered “the horrific gang rape,” which lasted an hour and a half and left her “bloody and crying.”
Araiza always admitted to having consensual sex with the girl earlier in the evening, not knowing that she was 17 years old. He said he assumed she was older because it was a college party and she had told other people she was 18. He vehemently denied any other contact with the woman.
SDSU, local police and the San Diego County District Attorney's Office conducted a lengthy investigation into the allegations and declined to charge Araiza.
Last spring, local prosecutors met with the woman and said evidence collected showed Araiza had already left the house when the alleged gang rape occurred.
“He wasn’t even at the party anymore,” Assistant District Attorney Trisha Amador said in a recorded meeting with the woman. Amador later explained the timeline of events: “All I know is that suspect Araiza left the party at this point.”
Prosecutors also told the girl that video footage of the bedroom incident led her to question whether it was actually a rape rather than consensual sex with numerous men.
“Looking at the videos on the sex tape, I can absolutely not prove a violent sexual assault based on what happened,” Amador said.
Araiza, who was dubbed “The Punt God” during his record-setting college career and managed an 82-yard punt for the Bills in the 2022 preseason, had hoped Amador's statement would give him a second chance in the NFL.
He was expected to become the Bills' punter in 2022 and agreed to a $3.8 million contract, but it was voided.
The New York Jets brought him in for practice, but he wasn't signed. Numerous NFL teams told Yahoo Sports that they would be hesitant to hire Araiza while the civil lawsuit is pending. This is no longer a problem.
“We cannot emphasize enough the importance of the presumption of innocence to our justice system,” Semerdjian said. “Matt has always maintained his innocence, despite the public outcry that resulted when he was falsely accused of felonies and civil battery. Fortunately, there was extensive evidence that was crucial to Matt's voluntary dismissal from this lawsuit.
“Matt was and always will be innocent,” Semerdjian continued. “The case is closed and Matt has prevailed. He now has every intention of returning to the NFL in hopes of continuing a successful punting career.”