The Jets made a change at punter this offseason, signing veteran Thomas Morstead and waiving Braden Mann. Despite this addition, the team will also be the first known connection to Matt Araiza since the Bills cut him last summer.
Araiza is set to work out for the Jets on Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). The Bills waived Araiza, a 2022 sixth-round pick, following an allegation he was involved in a gang rape of a minor. Since that allegation became public in August 2022, Araiza has been cleared of criminal charges. A San Diego State investigation also did not produce any findings Araiza was involved in the alleged rape, according to Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com.
A civil lawsuit against Araiza is ongoing, with a civil trial set for October. The Jets will still look into a player who broke an NCAA record in 2021 after averaging 51.19 yards per punt. The Bills chose Araiza 180th overall last year, and he punted for the team during the preseason. Once the accusation surfaced, however, Buffalo sidelined Araiza for its final preseason game and soon waived him. Araiza, 23, spent last season out of football.
The civil suit alleges Araiza had sex with the accuser at an off-campus party and brought her into a bedroom where “a group” of men raped her. The woman, who was 17 at the time of the October 2021 party, said she told friends immediately after she had been raped; she reported it to the San Diego Police Department the next day. During a 10-month criminal investigation into Araiza and two other members of the San Diego State football team, however, a witness said Araiza was no longer at the party at the time the alleged rape took place. The accuser’s attorney disputes that witness’ reliability, according to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports.
Araiza has said any sexual contact between he and the accuser was consensual. The punter’s agent later sent 20 teams a recording of a December 2022 meeting between a San Diego County prosecutor, the accuser and her attorney, Brent Schrotenboer and Josh Peter of USA Today report. The recording includes a series of video clips showing the teen’s sexual encounters at the party; none show Araiza, who declined an offer to settle the case for $50K.
Although the woman was 17 at the time of the alleged rape, Araiza has said he believed she was 18. The audio interview includes the prosecutor telling the accuser, “I have to be able to prove that [the suspects] knew your age.” The accuser maintains she was intoxicated “to the point of not being able to consent to sex” and indicated the above-referenced video clips do not paint a full picture of that 2021 night’s events, Peter and Schrotenboer report.
Even as the criminal investigation produced no charges for Araiza, the fallout still threatens to keep him out of the NFL. But the Jets will still take a look during OTAs. The Jets gave Morstead, 37, a one-year deal worth $1.3MM in March. They guaranteed the veteran specialist $1.1MM.
The last part is pretty disingenuous given that the school threw out a positive rape kit the night after and didn’t let actual police investigate it for 2 years until after he was graduated.
Crazy that all the stories changed from the initial ones they gave two years ago and are now identical.
Now its “consensual” sex spreading an STD which is still a crime in California, unless you have money I guess.
Money really does fix all issues I guess.
The whole thing is very bizarre, but I recently saw an article in which the DA claimed Araiza would not be charged because video evidence shows him leaving the party hours before the rape occurred and that this was corroborated by multiple eyewitnesses.
I saw that too, but he admitted to having sex with her, when she was a minor, and drunk (and literally could not consent)
So I’m not sure how all of that got swept under the rug
Thanks for keeping discourse civil unlike the other folks lol
Yeah, I’m very confused, too, and conflicted about whether or not he deserves a second chance.
And of course. I think it’s strange how some people on the internet feel the need to attack others as soon as they see an opinion they disagree with.
Araiza never admitted to any of that. Iliana also wasn’t drunk and lied about her age.
This thread is 4 months old, you can cut the act out Araiza burner.
He admitted those things via text, when he told her they had sex and she should get checked for STDs.
She was by all accounts drunk.
Lying about your age is the typical frat boy defense. It doesn’t hold water.
Literally no one but you is claiming he admitted anything “via text.” Not even the plaintiff’s attorney. You assume facts not in evidence.
She was by her account drunk. Everyone else said she wasn’t including her friends who were there with her. Why would they say she wasn’t drunk if she was? I could see Araiza’s teammates lying about that but these are HER friends.
It does hold water when there is VIDEO of her lying about her age. It’s on YouTube.
Matt Araiza is a perfect innocent angel who did nothing wrong.
If you don’t care about objective facts from the police report you can just pound sand.
Hopefully your child never goes through what that poor child went through, you wouldn’t believe them anyways.
Au contraire it is you that doesn’t care about objective facts from the police report because after an extensive investigation they recommended against charges being filed and the DA straight up told the accuser that they had evidence that it was consensual and she lied about her age.
He still never admitted anything “via text.”
Here’s your “poor child” btdubs.
link to youtu.be
Makes more sense for the Raiders or Bengals all-felons team.
the case againist araiza has been dropped because video evidence shows that he was not present at the time of the rap* and yet you still claim hes a felon?
Don’t be so naïve. You’re a cubs fan, so I don’t expect much. Hope you don’t have a daughter who’s ever in this situation, I’m sure you’d take the million dollar punter’s side. Clown show I tell ya.
Yeah people, don’t believe video evidence. Ever. Just assume girl is always telling the truth and always assume the male is at fault. Cause “regret so ill claim rap*” never happens. Ever ever ever.
Side note, boy or girl, getting intoxicated to the point you’re unable to consent to things isn’t the best life decision. Bad things usually stem from doing such, namely drunk driving.
Yeah, just like the Capitol riots, video shows how the Democrats were behind it all, yet it’s still Trump and MAGAs fault? Video evidence reaaaally is always believable correct?
Hopefully you don’t have a daughter, or a son with those morals…
You’re comparing video evidence showing people being in a place they weren’t suppose to be vs video evidence showing a dude leaving a place before events transpired.
Hopefully your kids don’t grow up as ignorant and dumb as you man. Wish them well.
@MyCommentIsBetter
if I had a daughter I would raise her to not be a slu* who goes and gets drunk at parties and has se* with random guys. I would raise her to be better then that and then not proceed to go accuse the football star without truth.
Trust me, you probably would tell your daughter to accuse the football star for $$$$. Just like you claim this girl did….
I can re-word it for you. The Raiders or Bengals all time POS team? All time gangsta team? All time troubled child team? Which fits best for you?
Dumb comment. It seems that he did nothing wrong.
It seems you know little on the situation.
K. Post your evidence proving his guilt.
If he isn’t willing to settle for 50k…I mean if you were concerned or knew you did something wrong, 50k is nothing
Why would you settle if you did nothing wrong?
Thats your best evidence? He won’t settle? Weak.
I saw a piece on CNN by John Avlon reviewing the case. His conclusion was that accusers need to be taken seriously but so does the legal process. If he has been cleared criminally, he should have the opportunity to continue his career. That said, as a Jets’ and Rutgers’ fan, I’d much rather they brought in Adam Korsak to challenge Morstead than Araiza.
Not knowing facts and not ever having seen any media coverage (which I’d not believe). Just being accused can ruin a man’s life – not so when a woman is in the same boat.
Lesson here – avoid party sex when in college or compile a ‘consent form’ for both to sign kinda like a ‘pre nuptial’. CYA
Naaa, just avoid party sex.
Hopefully, he gets another job.
Hopefully, you never have a daughter in college who gets ra**d by a football team….
fuc* off your such a ass
No daughters and my boys were taught to pick quality (a meaningful relationship) verses quantity (whambam)!
Mikerophone has a good series on YouTube about this story with much more info that in this article.
Her own friends said this girl was going around to them boasting about having slept with different guys over the course of the party
He never should have been let go in the first place.