For the first time, the Buffalo Bills have made the decision to select punter Matt Alaiza after disturbing allegations were made public this week. Buffalo decided not to play Araiza, the only punter on its roster, in Friday night’s preseason game against the Carolina Panthers after a civil lawsuit involved Araiza and two former San Diego State University teammates accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl at a house party last year. Bills head coach Sean McDermott said he called Araiza to sit down. When asked if Araiza would stay with the team, McDermott said the Bills are “trying to do the right thing.” “It’s hard to pass,” McDermott said via NFL Network. “This is not a situation that I or we take lightly. Clearly we have work to do to continue to address this.”
The Buffalo News reports on Araiza’s locker, space between kicker Tyler Bass and long snapper Reid Ferguson, with no license plate. After Araiza went out, Bills No. 3 quarterback Matt Barkley took over the kicking duties. He threw a 33-yard punt on his first attempt and averaged 40 yards per punt on four attempts.
Araiza accused of having sex with a high school student outside an off-campus party relationship, and then took her to a room where she was repeatedly raped. The other two men named in the lawsuit are Zavier Leonard, a redshirt freshman for the Aztecs, and Nowlin Ewaliko, who was a freshman last season but is no longer on the roster. Araiza attorney Kerry Armstrong told Los Angeles Times Rape allegations were false, and his investigators spoke with the client’s witnesses, who recounted a DIFFERENT STORY “This is a shuffle, Because he’s on the Buffalo Bills now,” Armstrong said. “There is no doubt that Matt Araiza [never] raped that girl.”
This week, the Bills made Araiza a betting job for veteran Matt Haack. The former punter quickly found work as he was asked to waive by the Indianapolis Colts. Will be watching closely in the coming days the bill decides on Araiza processing performed. Friday’s call could be a sign of where Buffalo is headed.
