SCBills

He had to of known that by filing the suit and then going bonkers ridiculous on Twitter that he wasn’t going to be for long with an NFL punter to go after.

Sure, but I was responding to a post about Beane potentially worrying about locker room dissent/backlash. Under your premise, cutting him would lead to none. Based on Beane’s comments, it sounds like they don’t believe he’s guilty. Now maybe they don’t know if he’s completely innocent either.. but that’s the read I get, and I’d bet many of the players likely feel the same.

I don’t think players will revolt. I’m sure some may agree with the decision, some may be disgusted by what they heard, but some may also realize that despite the “family” aspect, this is a business … and they have now seen firsthand that players are expendable if someone levels an accusation their way. That’s the case for most teams, but sometimes you start to buy in to the idea that the FO truly has your back. Im also sure some of the guys became friends with Araiza. Tough to see that happen to someone if you know them personally and believe them.

It obviously is disingenuous, as it should be.. He’s not going to say “we cut him because failed modernity has forced our hand.”

Class would be cutting him because facts arose that showed he is guilty. Class would be sticking by someone who you believe is innocent in the face of media and Twitter mobs. Bills did neither of those things, but they did handle a horrible set of circumstances about as well as they could in the context of running a business.

Its unfair, but he needs something that explicitly shows his innocence. Post-Watson, he got hit with about the worst allegation that could ever be leveled at someone in the NFL.

Kobe did.

Fwiw, I do think he likely did. I don’t know that it’s related to the main allegation, but I’ve thought from jump that the Bills would say they lost trust in him because he misled or omitted ancillary details.

Fwiw, I doubt guys who are sexually active with lots of people get together and swap stories about the time they were accused of rape. I know of one, that was false, where authorities were involved… but I also know of one where the word was thrown around because of a one night stand that the woman believed would be more than that. As always, life experiences likely shapes a lot of how people view this issue. That’s why I also understand why women want to “believe all women”, even though we know - factually - that’s a ridiculous statement. More often that not, though, I’m sure they are not lying when they come forward to that extent.

One can have a nuanced view of this and understand it’s the right move for the team, but also a really awful situation that has devastated two peoples lives now. One of them most definitely did not deserve it.. and the other, we have no idea if they do or not, yet people are metaphorically popping bottles after leading the online charge to destroy this man’s life by declaring him guilty in the court of public opinion. I get it from a Bills perspective. On a human level, it’s all awful.

This whole situation is so gross. I have to stay off Twitter rn because the amount of high profile Bills fans cheering the fact we are likely cutting this punter over an allegation really feels disgusting. I understand what he’s accused of, and if true, he deserves all of this, but man… we are such a hateful society sometimes.

This is correct. Not sure why someone gave you the red X. If he clears his name, someone will likely sign him and absolutely should sign him.

This dude, along with his groupies on Twitter, are annoying.

If we didn’t release him today, that pretty much (imo) confirms the Bills have info we don’t have.. and it’s likely compelling information that corroborates whatever Matt Araiza is telling them. Obviously an assumption, but I don’t really see how this can be interpreted any other way. If they believe he’s at all potentially implicated, he’s cut today. Doesn’t mean he won’t be cut, I think he will … but it does seem like they’re giving him time to come up with anything that exonerates himself.

Im guessing that they are giving this until cut day to sort itself out as they dig into every corner of the situation. If it doesn’t, they likely release him and pick up a punter off the inevitable scrap heap on Tuesday.

They aren’t even on the main page of ESPN.com right now. Fox Sports has an article about the Bills on their main page. It’s about Dorsey/Allen. Aside from quoting McDermott, national reporters on Twitter have barely talked about this after the initial story broke. It’s pretty Bills-centric right now.

Honestly… aside from the clunky statement they put out initially, they’re handling everything pretty well, imo. Didn’t dress him last night. Are keeping him away from the team. McDermott gave a heartfelt press conference. Now they remain tight lipped as they do their due diligence. We’ll see what McDermott says later, but so far… they’ve handled this “almost” as well as I could hope for.

Because they want accountability. Unfortunately “accountability” to them means snap judgments made in highly complex situations that 100% align with their view of the situation.. and when that doesn’t occur, they want to everyone nailed to crosses.

Gotta agree here. He’s not just a punter. He’s the most hyped punter in recent memory. This story was allegedly floating around in certain circles. This accusation is everything the media jumps all over. And… radio silence? Through the entire draft process? Bizarre.

Maybe they truly believe he’s innocent of the main accusation but did not fully understand the ancillary details involved. Details on their own, likely wouldn’t get a guy cut for misconduct. Now they’re in a tough spot because people can jump on the 17 angle or STD angle without context, as they are amplified in conjunction with the main allegation. Also now their trust is eroded in him independent of the main accusation. Im going to go ahead and assume that quite a few players in the league have things that teams hoped stayed buried.. and stayed buried.

Yup. Can’t imagine “We’ve done an investigation and currently believe Matt Araiza when he says he is innocent of these accusations” will go over well. Because that’s all they could say if they aren’t cutting him. Due to this being an ongoing lawsuit, they can’t exactly trot out a lawyer to start giving an opening statement outlining why they feel that way.

I hardly see anybody saying that. People defend his presumption of innocence on a human level. Not seeing this groundswell of “we gotta keep him because he kicks the ball really far”.

If I had to guess .. it’s likely not having to do with whether they believe he’s innocent or guilty, but ancillary stuff they may feel misled on. Maybe they thought this was wrapped up. Maybe they didn’t know she was 17 at the time. Maybe there are details they feel Araiza should have informed them of that he didn’t. But I highly doubt they went from “we believe he’s innocent” to “holy **** we have a rapist on our team” overnight.

100% I don’t care if he’s the backup safety.. For me, this is about principle. Some view integrity as cutting a guy based on allegations. Others view integrity as standing by a guy who proclaims his innocence, unless proven otherwise. We all have different moral compasses. It would have been cool to have a novelty punter who may also be an absolute weapon in Special Teams. That’s it though … it would have been cool … not necessary, not important.. just kinda cool. We will be the same Super Bowl contender for years to come with him or without him.

I don’t think he’s a burner in that sense. His speed is more about burst and shooting gaps.