Matt Araiza accused of rape, served with a lawsuit.

[NoSaint]

1 minute ago, HappyDays said:

There you go. He's probably going to be cut soon. That or they'll announce that they're collecting more info and keeping him away from the team in the meantime.

those would be the two options if he’s not at practice 

[BIGFOOTspaceman]

4 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

You're right, the whole story isn't Matt Araiza hooked up with a 17 year old when he was in college. 

 

It's, Matt Araiza hooked up with a 17 year old girl he just met in the bushes outside of a house where she would possibly be forcibly raped by several of his teammates, and he is the one being accused of brining her into the room where it happened. 

 

But that's not why this thread is nearing 300 pages. These allegations were made public as early as December 2021 and the Bills don't seem to have known anything about it when they drafted him.

 

And after learning of the allegations, the Bills chose to name him the starter apparently hoping the whole thing would stay buried. 

 

Whether Matt Araiza is guilty or even charged is up to the DA and judge/ jury to decide. 

 

As Bills fans, we have every right to know why due diligence wasn't done. Or if it was, and someone decided to take a gamble that it would never see the light of day. 

I don't buy the fact that other teams knew.  I mean, Josh Allen's tweet was all over ESPN and NFL Network right before the draft and that was just a tweet.

 

This guy potentially gang raped a girl, it was supposedly known and not a peep? That's weird. Matt Araiza, though a punter and 6th round pick did have a buzz around him.  And nothing?  Like I said, seems weird. 

[LabattBlue]

3 minutes ago, TC in St. Louis said:

I don't believe anybody right now.  Least of all the alleged victim.  I just read something in her "journal" where she says that, after several people took turns having sex with her, she was flipped over and someone performed oral sex on her.  

 

First of all, I don't know any people who would take turns having sex with anybody.  But I don't know that there is a person on the planet who would have oral sex with a woman who has been having sex with several men.  That particular embellishment, in my opinion, is nonsense. 

 

Her lawyer strikes me as a scumbag.  He's blaming everybody.  Is it possible that his client is lying?  

 

This whole thing is funky.

This is a football board.  No need for your thoughts in graphic detail.  

[Warcodered]

Just now, BIGFOOTspaceman said:

I don't buy the fact that other teams knew.  I mean, Josh Allen's tweet was all over ESPN and NFL Network right before the draft and that was just a tweet.

 

This guy potentially gang raped a girl, it was supposedly known and not a peep? That's weird. Matt Araiza, though a punter and 6th round pick did have a buzz around him.  And nothing?  Like I said, seems weird. 

There was an article apparently a month ago it just for whatever reason didn't click into the collective consciousness.

[aristocrat]

5 minutes ago, TC in St. Louis said:

I don't believe anybody right now.  Least of all the alleged victim.  I just read something in her "journal" where she says that, after several people took turns having sex with her, she was flipped over and someone performed oral sex on her.  

 

First of all, I don't know any people who would take turns having sex with anybody.  But I don't know that there is a person on the planet who would have oral sex with a woman who has been having sex with several men.  That particular embellishment, in my opinion, is nonsense. 

 

Her lawyer strikes me as a scumbag.  He's blaming everybody.  Is it possible that his client is lying?  

 

This whole thing is funky.

This is hilarious. Google some things but maybe you shouldn’t cause you’ll go down a rabbit hole you’ll never recover from. 

[SCBills]

1 minute ago, BIGFOOTspaceman said:

I don't buy the fact that other teams knew.  I mean, Josh Allen's tweet was all over ESPN and NFL Network right before the draft and that was just a tweet.

 

This guy potentially gang raped a girl, it was supposedly known and not a peep? That's weird. Matt Araiza, though a punter and 6th round pick did have a buzz around him.  And nothing?  Like I said, seems weird. 

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.  

[NoSaint]

2 minutes ago, BIGFOOTspaceman said:

I don't buy the fact that other teams knew.  I mean, Josh Allen's tweet was all over ESPN and NFL Network right before the draft and that was just a tweet.

 

This guy potentially gang raped a girl, it was supposedly known and not a peep? That's weird. Matt Araiza, though a punter and 6th round pick did have a buzz around him.  And nothing?  Like I said, seems weird. 

I think you’d be shocked what teams know and we don’t on some of these guys. 

[Believer]

1 minute ago, NoSaint said:

In our age of instant gratification it’s not always popular, but sometimes you have to let the story come to you. before saying things on the record.

 

im guessing bills investigators and strategists are having many meetings today to either review new content or reconfirm old beliefs they had 

Yes, no doubt… And Pegula should say so… He owns the franchise, for Chris sakes… Leadership starts with showing up… Last word from me on his silence… 

[Motorin']

Just now, BIGFOOTspaceman said:

I don't buy the fact that other teams knew.  I mean, Josh Allen's tweet was all over ESPN and NFL Network right before the draft and that was just a tweet.

 

This guy potentially gang raped a girl, it was supposedly known and not a peep? That's weird. Matt Araiza, though a punter and 6th round pick did have a buzz around him.  And nothing?  Like I said, seems weird. 

 

I'd really like to track down the supposed Twitter account that was created in December 2021 that was used launch these accusations against Araiza and other members of his team. 

 

There were also CBS reports about the SDS football teams involvement in a rape much early than when the Bills found out. 

 

 

[PromoTheRobot]

 

 

 

[GoBills808]

1 minute ago, NoSaint said:

I think you’d be shocked what teams know and we don’t on some of these guys. 

The other side of that coin would be how shocking it would be for an organization to miss, for whatever reason, something so potentially damaging imo.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 minute ago, Believer said:

Yes, no doubt… And Pegula should say so… He owns the franchise, for Chris sakes… Leadership starts with showing up… Last word from me on his silence… 

 

Why do people want the owner to chime in?

[finn]

5 minutes ago, mannc said:

There is nowhere near enough information to conclude anything about the thoroughness of the Bills’ investigation.  The only thing we know is that after communicating with the plaintiff’s lawyer, and having an opportunity to investigate further, they went ahead and cut Matt Haack.  As some have pointed out, that might not mean much because talent like Haack’s isn’t exactly rare anyway…

Actually, that's a good point. I could think of no reason why the Bills, who say they value character, would cut Haack and keep Araiza before doing (true) due diligence on this matter. This at least is one plausible explanation. They might not have wanted to keep Haack under any circumstances. 

[BIGFOOTspaceman]

6 minutes ago, BTB said:

This is a football board.  No need for your thoughts in graphic detail.  

That was just gross to read, didn't need the mental picture. 

[Warcodered]

9 minutes ago, TC in St. Louis said:

I don't believe anybody right now.  Least of all the alleged victim.  I just read something in her "journal" where she says that, after several people took turns having sex with her, she was flipped over and someone performed oral sex on her.  

 

First of all, I don't know any people who would take turns having sex with anybody.  But I don't know that there is a person on the planet who would have oral sex with a woman who has been having sex with several men.  That particular embellishment, in my opinion, is nonsense. 

 

Her lawyer strikes me as a scumbag.  He's blaming everybody.  Is it possible that his client is lying?  

 

This whole thing is funky.

Just to give a quick summation as to how gross this is, the premise of this statement comes off as us apparently needing to defer to you as to proper gangbang/rape etiquette? and for that reason why the victim's account isn't believable?

[GoBills808]

1 minute ago, Warcodered said:

Just to give a quick summation as to how gross this is, the premise of this statement comes off as us apparently needing to defer to you as to proper gangbang/rape etiquette? and for that reason why the victim's account isn't believable?

Ffs don't quote that

[nedboy7]

13 minutes ago, TC in St. Louis said:

I don't believe anybody right now.  Least of all the alleged victim.  I just read something in her "journal" where she says that, after several people took turns having sex with her, she was flipped over and someone performed oral sex on her.  

 

First of all, I don't know any people who would take turns having sex with anybody.  But I don't know that there is a person on the planet who would have oral sex with a woman who has been having sex with several men.  That particular embellishment, in my opinion, is nonsense. 

 

Her lawyer strikes me as a scumbag.  He's blaming everybody.  Is it possible that his client is lying?  

 

This whole thing is funky.

 

Gang rape is usually funky.  I suggest not posting. 

[Beck Water]

9 minutes ago, Captain Caveman said:

I agree it might be uncommon for a team to interview the victim in this type of situation, but I do think it speaks to the depth of their investigation (which is to say, pretty shallow) that they met once for a few hours, and never asked a single follow up question after that day.

 

For what it's worth, one of our resident attorneys pointed out that the whole "Bills didn't talk to the victim as part of their investigation" may in large part be more lawyer grandstanding and trying to (successfully) put pressure on the Bills by "trying the case in the court of public opinion" by making it look as though the Bills can't have done a thorough investigation - a viewpoint reinforced by the headline of @john wawrow's otherwise well done AP article.

 

His point was that the lawyer is actually highly unlikely to make his client available to the Bills either for a sworn deposition, or a recorded interview with the Bills reps able to ask her questions freely.  Either would be discoverable to the civil case, and could result in contradictions or inconsistencies that could cast doubt on her as a witness in her civil case.

 

In fact, the lawyer mentions specifically "contact my client for her statement".  A pre-written, vetted statement from the alleged victim may not add too much to the investigation over the initial conversation and the emailed information he provided to the Bills.

[PromoTheRobot]

4 minutes ago, SCBills said:

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.  

 

Let's play a little game here. You say the story was out there. Yet we all only just found out about this Friday. How "out there" could it had been?

 

[mannc]

2 minutes ago, finn said:

Actually, that's a good point. I could think of no reason why the Bills, who say they value character, would cut Haack and keep Araiza before doing (true) due diligence on this matter. This at least is one plausible explanation. They might not have wanted to keep Haack under any circumstances. 

I'm coming around to that point of view...but on the other hand, they cut Haack well before they had to pick a punter...they could have kept both he and Araiza on the roster for another couple weeks as they sorted things out.  Really tough to figure...