Matt Araiza accused of rape, served with a lawsuit.

[MPT]

Just now, NickelCity said:

 

To be fair this is a lot more information than you offered in the post I quoted. 

 

You're advocating cutting him and signing him to the practice squad. 

 

Yeah I see how that was too vague. Gotta do something with him right? I just don't want them to disregard the situation by starting him nor do I want to see his career ruined because they feel like they have to save face by completely cutting him off before the facts are known.

[NickelCity]

The "sign him to the practice squad" argument is maybe too academic. I don't think signing him to the practice squad will ameliorate the PR nightmare like some folks seem to suggest.

[BIGFOOTspaceman]

2 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

The fans are not owed anything at the current stage. It’s a legal matter and not the team’s responsibility to go into detail yet. How is Beane gonna stand up there and say he had or has information they were comfortable keeping him? When they can’t disclose the information they may or may not have. It’s too early in the process still for them to give any actual information. They literally can’t say much at all. You seen that with Mcdermott last night. 

McDermott sounded disgusted to even be in this situation 

[BuffaloBud17]

I wonder what the Pegulas think about this. Knowing that my coach and GM knew about this and still drafted the kid. If I was owner I might have to fire them.

[NickelCity]

Just now, MPT said:

 

Yeah I see how that was too vague. Gotta do something with him right? I just don't want them to disregard the situation by starting him nor do I want to see his career ruined because they feel like they have to save face by completely cutting him off before the facts are known.

 

I can see that, but I think the Bills don't have much more room for a choice.

[mannc]

4 minutes ago, QLBillsFan said:

JW article says 2 of 5 teams were aware of the situation. As a team vetting a positional need and MA being arguably the top punter-they should have at least been aware. The questions they ask are pretty specific. Any legal or off field issues we should be concerned about? Perhaps then the Bills would have asked, what about the SDSU campus rumors? 

Interesting.  I had not seen that article. I wonder what "aware of the situation" means? If Araiza lied in response to specific questions the Bills asked him, then that puts it in a different light.     

[Beck Water]

4 minutes ago, BeastMaster said:

I hope the team is in contact with the league office right now seeing if they can have him put on the exempt list until more facts are gathered. 

 

This is the best case scenario by far

 

I tend to agree.  There's probably some pretty intense behind-the-scenes negotiation if that's what they're trying though - since it's rooted in something that happened before the draft and the CBA precludes the league from punishing players for pre-draft occurences - they have to go carefully.

[LabattBlue]

Just now, BuffaloBud17 said:

I wonder what the Pegulas think about this. Knowing that my coach and GM knew about this and still drafted the kid. If I was owner I might have to fire them.

That is a great hot take…for WGR.  Give them a call. 

[boyst]

Just now, NickelCity said:

The "sign him to the practice squad" argument is maybe too academic. I don't think signing him to the practice squad will ameliorate the PR nightmare like some folks seem to suggest.

But it is the fair thing to do. This isn't a boy scout unit we are making. 

 

Von Miller has a ton of allegations, one of the dudes beat up his GF, Josh had some offensive tweets...

[Rc2catch]

Just now, BIGFOOTspaceman said:

McDermott sounded disgusted to even be in this situation 

I didn’t take it that way. But I can understand why people feel that way. I’m sure he’s not happy, but who wants to sit in front of these vultures knowing you can’t really say anything and they’ll keep rephrasing over and over. 

[BIGFOOTspaceman]

1 minute ago, BuffaloBud17 said:

I wonder what the Pegulas think about this. Knowing that my coach and GM knew about this and still drafted the kid. If I was owner I might have to fire them.

I was under the assumption that no team knew before the draft but I could be wrong

[st pete gogolak]

I agree 100% with all the posters who say "wait for the facts to come out".  So I preface this with an admission I don't know the facts and this is hypothetical.  One, legal drinking age in California is 21.  If he served alcohol to a minor, that's a crime (don't know if it is a felony or misdemeanor).  Second, age of consent in California is 18.  Doesn't matter if she lied about her age, doesn't matter if sex was consensual.  If he had sex with her, that's statutory rape. Would a prosecutor zealously go after a 21 year old who had consensual sex with a 17 about to be 18 year old?  Probably not. Probably why there isn't a statutory rape case against Azaria pending.  Those two points alone, however,  are pretty serious stuff.  Really can't see him remaining on the team.  Whether it's "fair" or "unfair" is besides the point.  

 

Going back to football, the Bills were 13 seconds away from hosting the AFC Championship with probably the worst punter in the entire league.  Maybe they released Haack because they knew that they could upgrade over him even if Azaria was released.  Not sure that's the right call, going into the season opener with a new punter/holder but it sure looks that way.  

[QLBillsFan]

1 minute ago, NickelCity said:

The "sign him to the practice squad" argument is maybe too academic. I don't think signing him to the practice squad will ameliorate the PR nightmare like some folks seem to suggest.

Agree. While nobody will claim him until this is resolved, this continues the PR nightmare. No win for the Bills right now.
Someone didn’t protect the franchise reputation and that’s the second biggest bummer of this whole deal. First of course being the trauma this girl endured. 

[The Wiz]

Just now, BuffaloBud17 said:

I wonder what the Pegulas think about this. Knowing that my coach and GM knew about this and still drafted the kid. If I was owner I might have to fire them.

Welcome to TBD!  now leave.

 

 

 

 

 

Joking.  But knee jerk reactions have been said 1023153253253252 times already in this thread.  The 223 pages can be condensed into maybe 4 or 5.  They are letting it play out the same way McD and Beane are.  Also, they drafted him before they knew about it.  The found out on 7/31 according to reports.

[NickelCity]

Just now, Boyst62 said:

But it is the fair thing to do. This isn't a boy scout unit we are making. 

 

Von Miller has a ton of allegations, one of the dudes beat up his GF, Josh had some offensive tweets...

 

In a vacuum, a team would wait until the entire thing is litigated and a judgement is passed. 

 

But we're not in a vacuum and cutting and resigning to the practice squad isn't going to ease the PR nightmare that much. 

[QLBillsFan]

3 minutes ago, mannc said:

Interesting.  I had not seen that article. I wonder what "aware of the situation" means? If Araiza lied in response to specific questions the Bills asked him, then that puts it in a different light.     

It suggests the other teams were aware via due diligence. I don’t think it suggests he lied to Bills. But not sure and I won’t speculate. 

[Beck Water]

1 minute ago, BuffaloBud17 said:

I wonder what the Pegulas think about this. Knowing that my coach and GM knew about this and still drafted the kid. If I was owner I might have to fire them.

 

Did they know about this, is the question?

 

John Wawrow wrote (can't find right now) and re-tweeted information that some teams knew pre draft, and some teams did not:

 

If they didn't know, but there was talk all over the team and rumors around campus, spilling into newspapers and onto message boards, the question is "why didn't the team know?".    When Beane was discussing Cody Ford and talking about how they have to examine every aspect of their pre-draft process, it seems possible in hindsight that Cody Ford wasn't the only player on his mind.

[Buffalo03]

6 minutes ago, BuffaloBud17 said:

I wonder what the Pegulas think about this. Knowing that my coach and GM knew about this and still drafted the kid. If I was owner I might have to fire them.

Yeah, let's just start another 17 year playoff drought, I'm on board

Edited August 27, 2022 by Buffalo03

[mannc]

18 hours ago, El Guapo said:

You don’t “defend yourself in the media” if there is a criminal investigation. That could go really bad. But, you’re not concerned about that. You only want to continue trying this in the media. Much more fun on social media than a court of law, right?

This is generally a true statement, but I think there are exceptions, and this is one of them.  If your career hangs in the balance--as it does for Araiza--it's probably worth the risk to put your narrative out there, especially when the other side is dropping bombs left and right in an effort to sway public opinion...assuming you have a compelling story to tell, of course.  I believe Team Araiza was caught off-guard and has done a poor job of responding to Gilleon's tactics, and it is probably going to cost Araiza his job, if not his freedom.  

[muppy]

well folks here we are awaiting news and official updates from the team. I have decided to put my trust in @YoloinOhio who is our standout poster for tweets and current news. You are officially followed so I won't miss NEW news. With the amount of conversation going on keeping current is close to a full time job , mercy.

 

m

Edited August 27, 2022 by muppy