Matt Araiza accused of rape, served with a lawsuit.

[YoloinOhio]

3 minutes ago, QLBillsFan said:

Sorry key point. If he’s shown to be involved. Think the challenge is this thing will both linger and likely not definitively prove his innocence. It’s civil not criminal so far.

And as we saw with McDermott he is extremely conflicted. He wants to the right thing. For the girl. For araiza. For the team. for the organization. But the truth is not evident. And the regular season is 12 days away. I feel for him in a big way. 
 

the Easy thing to do is cut him, sign another punter, get it out of the way so they don’t have it hanging over them and prepare for the rams. He doesn’t know if that’s the right thing to do. Because he doesn’t know if he was involved. 

Edited August 27, 2022 by YoloinOhio

[Draconator]

Just now, NoSaint said:

If this is truly a SB team, this should not derail the season unless they handle it in an unimaginable manner. 

And after watching McDermott's press conference last night, I have no doubt the Bills will take the right course of action. 

[BeastMaster]

6 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

Whether she lied about her age or not, putting that out in the public media is simply trying to shame the victim and dirty her up in the court of public opinion, taint the jury pool, etc.  Keep repeating that she lied about her age, had "consensual" sex that she "agreed" to, even though legally she couldn't consent and couldn't agree.  The dirtier the better.  And judging by many responses in this forum, it's working to a T.  You are correct about the "mistake in age", but few are drawing that distinction in these pages.

No...it's called putting out your side of the story since her lawyer put out a whole bunch of statements first...and many are very questionable on her lawyers part.

 

Both lawyers have been operating questionable in the eyes of many.

[Buffalo03]

1 minute ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

Whether she lied about her age or not, putting that out in the public media is simply trying to shame the victim and dirty her up in the court of public opinion, taint the jury pool, etc.  Keep repeating that she lied about her age, had "consensual" sex that she "agreed" to, even though legally she couldn't consent and couldn't agree.  The dirtier the better.  And judging by many responses in this forum, it's working to a T.  You are correct about the "mistake in age", but few are drawing that distinction in these pages.

It's just getting people to understand both sides of this story. If she did say she was 18, she should be held accountable for lying to him about her age. Why does she get a pass? I think it's funny, Araiza had an STD at the time and never told her until they called him on the phone which I think is wrong obviously. But if people are gonna slam him for not making it known to her he had an std immediately, then why doesn't she deserve criticism for lying about her age? If he is supposed to ask her for ID, is she supposed to ask if he has an STD? It's a 2 way street

[K-9]

1 minute ago, Jamie Mueller said:

I'm not minimizing or trivializing what may or may not have happened here... if the posted story is factual then it's a truly horrible thing. I'm just wondering, why is Araiza being confronted with a civil lawsuit... rather than with criminal charges?

The usual answer is that the DA’s investigation didn’t find enough evidence to bring criminal charges. 

[Draconator]

1 minute ago, Jamie Mueller said:

I'm not minimizing or trivializing what may or may not have happened here... if the posted story is factual then it's a truly horrible thing. I'm just wondering, why is Araiza being confronted with a civil lawsuit... rather than with criminal charges?

The girls attorney was frustrated by the lack of action/attention from the San Diego police, so he filed the civil suit to get the police going and file charges if they should apply. 

[LabattBlue]

On 8/25/2022 at 9:20 PM, BTB said:

More like 200

Even my guess at 200 pages now seems low. 😂

[Billsatlastin2018]

7 minutes ago, Jerome007 said:But a 21 yo dude having sex with a 17yo gal present at a college party is not exactly something to prevent a guy from having a career! 

🙄Of course it is- today! 
IT’S DE FACTO STATUTORY RAPE! 

 

Would you say the same if it were your Sister?

[Big Blitz]

6 minutes ago, Herc11 said:

So lying about your age means your a slut now? 

 

Talk about reaching

 

 

No.  Being at that party tho - please tell me her intentions that night.  

 

Why was she at this party - she didn't deserve to be sexually assaulted or raped.  And before you start with "oh another well why was she wearing an outfit like that" guy.  Nope.  That's totally different.  

 

Hopefully men have gotten past that b.s. 

 

 

 

Our culture is a disaster.  She had no business being at that party because of what her intent likely was (gtfo if you think it was anything other then hook up with some college dudes - you're delusional if you think otherwise.)  Which automatically is opening the door to all kinds of problems and disaster.  

 

Who was there looking out for their drunk friend?

 

Who was there to tell the guys "she's only 17!"  

 

I guess those drunk dudes should have insisted on ID.  

 

 

This is all such a pathetic mess that won't get its proper q and a because the players and the university are already to blame.   

[Buffalo03]

10 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Spoken like a guy who hasn't been to a college party in more than a decade, or known anyone who has.  Some women in their mid-20s look older than some girls in their mid-teens.  Fact, Jack.

 

 

Yes, I mean to tell you high school girls (and college girls) aren't "ALL" trying to get laid.

 

Some of them are - for sure.  They 100% set out to hook up, they play "treasure hunt" party games (kiss a guy you don't know, let him feel you up, do a body shot, give a BJ etc).  I had a kid just graduate college, that wasn't her thing but she knew all about it.

 

Some of them just want to dress sexy and bask in feeling admired and flirt and drink and go home and sleep it off.

 

The assumption that 100% of the latter, actually are the former or can be persuaded or inebriated into being the former, causes a lot of social and legal problems on HS and college campuses today.

 

 

I'm just saying high school guys and girls are trying to get laid a lot. Maybe not all but a lot of them are. And I do believe high school women do go to college parties to have sex with college guys and will lie about their age to do so. It does happen. These people that are denying anything like this ever happens are just weird and yes, women in their mid 20's obviously look older than girls in their mid teens but how much older does a 18, 19, 20 year old look than a 16 or 17 year old. 

Edited August 27, 2022 by Buffalo03

[hemma]

1 minute ago, YoloinOhio said:

I don’t recall that anyone said this age declaration (or question) took place. Her side is saying she told them she was in HS. His side is saying she told people she went to Grossmont college. Her diary says she told them she went to Grossmont. Grossmont is the name of both an area HS and area college. 

Yes, I understand all of this, but the ‘age 18’ comments I see peppered about seem to have been created from within this thread and now has its own life.  Being 18 or 17 as a freshman in college is an accident of birthdate.

 

So she did NOT say she was 18.  That supposed fact was given birth in this thread, correct??

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

1 hour ago, Beck Water said:

 

I believe if the Bills suspend him he counts towards the 53 man roster, yes.  Whether it's an NFLPA grievance or not depends upon exactly what the suspension is for.  If Araiza lied to or misled the Bills about having an interview with police this summer in an active rape investigation, or about what happened, I think that would come under the "conduct detrimental" clause and they can suspend him.  I don't think they can suspend him for something that happened last October without a grievance.

 

The exempt list has to come from the Commissioner.  He would not count towards the 53 if he's on that list.   Normally it wouldn't happen for something occurring before he was drafted, but, again if Araiza or his rep lied to or misled the Bills this summer, Goodell might oblige out of understanding that this is a very bad look for the NFL as a whole.

 

 

Yeah that's where I'm kind of thinking Araiza would have to maybe agree to not contest being placed on exempt list.  That Goodell and the Bills will tell him it's just not a good look for everyone, this gives you time to work things out on your end.  But does he still get paid and if not, would he agree to it?

[QLBillsFan]

I think Bills discussion should have been to 19-tell us before the draft. Since he didn’t it appears they took calculated risk that this would not go public. And they lost. Now imho just for not helping Bills be prepared that justifies his release today. Even if ultimately innocent. The Bills brand can’t have 6-9 months of being dragged an enablers. Given how hard they have worked over 5-6 years to seriously become of the top respected franchises in the NFL. 

[YoloinOhio]

1 minute ago, hemma said:

Yes, I understand all of this, but the ‘age 18’ comments I see peppered about seem to have been created from within this thread and now has its own life.  Being 18 or 17 as a freshman in college is an accident of birthdate.

 

So she did NOT say she was 18.  That supposed fact was given birth in this thread, correct??

Yes

[Mango]

1 hour ago, wppete said:

 

I have been saying the same thing. That NFL teams hire high end LEO as well as the league. There is no way they didn’t know. 

[HappyDays]

9 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

Whether she lied about her age or not, putting that out in the public media is simply trying to shame the victim and dirty her up in the court of public opinion, taint the jury pool

 

Saying she lied about her age has nothing to do with her culpability for anything that happened that night. It is about Araiza's defense on the alleged statutory rape. High school seniors go to college parties and lie about their age all the time. No one is judging her character for that, but similarly you shouldn't inherently judge Araiza's character for having sex with a 17 year old at a college party. There is a ton of missing context involved that drastically changes the tone of that accusation. If for example he spiked her drink and knew she was a high schooler that is a very different narrative than if he hooked up with what he believed to be a college freshman who appeared to be in full control of her faculties. You're trying to ascribe a black and white narrative to something that everybody with a brain knows isn't black and white.

[Beck Water]

15 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Should the release him before they know if he was involved in  what is being alleged? That’s the question. 

 

IMHO they should release him if he lied or omitted information about what exactly was involved here when it came to the point where he learned the police investigation went to the DA and he hired a criminal defense lawyer.

 

Example: allegedly there were rumors on the football team and the campus about a Halloween party where a girl was gang-raped, involving 5 football players including Matt.  There were anonymous reports to that effect, the college now admits, although apparently the reporters refused to follow up with a Title IX complaint.  So Matt must have known something else happened at the party, even if he left the party after his own meeting with the girl.

 

Suppose Matt and/or his lawyer told the Bills that there was a police investigation into him regarding a party where a 17 yr old girl attended, said she was in college, and Matt had sex with her (statutory rape, mistake in age defense).  Suppose Matt and/or his lawyer failed to mention that there was a police investigation into a forcible gang rape involving several of his teammates that occurred at that same party, and he can prove he did not participate but may be involved because he introduced the girl to those guys.

 

IMHO, the Bills should cut his ass for that.  It's at best, lying by omission.

Edited August 27, 2022 by Beck Water

[YoloinOhio]

Just now, QLBillsFan said:

I think Bills discussion should have been to 19-tell us before the draft. Since he didn’t it appears they took calculated risk that this would not go public. And they lost. Now imho just for not helping Bills be prepared that justifies his release today. Even if ultimately innocent. The Bills brand can’t have 6-9 months of being dragged an enablers. Given how hard they have worked over 5-6 years to seriously become of the top respected franchises in the NFL. 

Actually, they were told on 7/30 that a civil suit was coming. They knew it would be public. 

[BeastMaster]

6 minutes ago, Rocky Landing said:

McDermott said several times in his presser last night that he wanted to find the "truth," and then "do the right thing." I think McDermott is a very decent man. He certainly knows that cutting Matt Araiza now would likely end his career in the NFL, regardless of how the lawsuit plays out. I think this presents a serious moral dilemma for him. What if everything Araiza is saying is true?

 

But, even if it is, the right thing to do for the team is to cut Araiza immediately. To call this situation a distraction is an understatement.

 

In my opinion, I think the best thing to happen at this moment for the team would be for Terry Pegula to step in and put an end to it. I know he has generally been pretty hands off, but it's not just the team that is distracted-- it's McDermott. Pegula should send Araiza packing, and get the team back to football.

Well the team clearly doesn't see cutting him immediately as the "right thing" being he's still on the roster as of right now

 

Your idea of whats right and theirs look to be two different things 

[Herc11]

1 minute ago, Draconator said:

The girls attorney was frustrated by the lack of action/attention from the San Diego police, so he filed the civil suit to get the police going and file charges if they should apply. 

 

 

Maybe its not even a money grab as Matt's lawyer suggests. Maybe they decided to include the name of the person that had the most celebrity status, knowing it would get tons of media attention. The other two named are nobodies and just naming them doesn't get headlines. Her lawyer may know they have nothing on Matt, in terms of gang rape, and truly only cares about getting this moving to get the other two.