Matt Araiza accused of rape, served with a lawsuit.

[Malazan]

2 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Because the rough part is over. He will either win or make her whole.

 

If it's true.. How, exactly, do you think you make a rape victim "whole"? 

[SectionC3]

1 minute ago, mannc said:

Well, the Bills were in direct communication with the plaintiff’s lawyer weeks ago, well before Haack was cut…so they had to have already known that the allegations were very serious…I don’t think the “Araiza misled the Bills” argument makes much sense.

Once, right?  And they didn't follow up.  And they didn't ask to talk to her.  And they didn't ask to see a copy of a draft complaint.  (The last point is an assumption, but holy cow, I can't imagine this guy sticking around if McD/Beane/anyone with a brain saw that thing.)

 

The easiest way to resolve this is to get discovery moving and to get Araiza under oath.  Let's see if he invokes the 5A under questioning.  If that's the case, the Bills side of this is easily resolved.  Of course, that won't happen until after the season starts.  Hence the jam that we're in. 

[YoloinOhio]

Good overview of McDermott from last night. To me it appears that araiza and his representation wasnt forthcoming with the org.

 

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

You know what would really suck?

 

Bills cut

He settles

Signs with other team and hangs an 80 yarder on us.  

 

He either wins a Bills or crashes a Bill.

 

We've crossed the Rubicon.

[Shake_My_Head]

I may have it missed in all 200+ pages (and counting) but there's another really relevant reason for cutting MA:  the 53 players who'll make up the roster, especially the veterans, who in all likelihood want this distraction to go away NOW in what's expected to be their best shot at a Super Bowl run this season.

 

The vets have no ties to a rookie punter, know this will be a season-long media cluster**** and are way more likely to push for it to be over so they can concentrate on football.   

 

While I'm at heart a "due process" supporter, I can suck it up and advocate for what may be an unfair, career-ruining decision that causes Matt's name to never again appear on a Bills roster if it means better odds of winning a Lombardi this year.   

 

Shallow?   Cruel?   Yeah, I feel bad.   But I can carry that weight...

[NoSaint]

7 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

They clearly should’ve kept Haack and put Araiza on the commissioner’s exempt list until this is sorted out due to the seriousness of the accusations.  

They can still sign a punter and put Araiza on exempt list but I’m sure McDermott is pissed that they’re starting over with a new punter/holder when Haack was on the roster 5 days ago.  

as he can’t face league punishment, could he even go on the list?

[SectionC3]

1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

You know what would really suck?

 

Bills cut

He settles

Signs with other team and hangs an 80 yarder on us.  

 

He either wins a Bills or crashes a Bill.

 

We've crossed the Rubicon.

What would really suck is if all of this is true.  And it has more than a hint of merit.  I'm not worried about Araiza here.  It's the author of those diary entries who has my concern. 

[ExiledInIllinois]

Just now, SectionC3 said:

What would really suck is if all of this is true.  And it has more than a hint of merit.  I'm not worried about Araiza here.  It's the author of those diary entries who has my concern. 

No.  Because then he lied to Bills. Cut him and give him an orange jumpsuit (and I don't mean a Fins Uni).  The Bills cab play victimized role. 

[LabattBlue]

9 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Bills need to stay the course.  Don't cut.  They are committed. If he will work in the NFL... Bills took all the damage.   Not much more can happen to them now.  Get him ready for opening day and press on.  It's a civil case.  Unless it goes criminal, which seems odd it would go back that way, then cut.

 

Bills paid the down payment on his talent.

Not much more can happen to them now?  So the media starting today will no longer bother McD with punt god questions?   I don’t think so.  

[SectionC3]

8 minutes ago, mannc said:

Well, the Bills were in direct communication with the plaintiff’s lawyer weeks ago, well before Haack was cut…so they had to have already known that the allegations were very serious…I don’t think the “Araiza misled the Bills” argument makes much sense.

Maybe.  Or maybe this lawyer was intentionally coy and didn't show his full hand.  (He had no obligation to do so and, if anything, may have served his client best by playing it this way.)  Or maybe the Bills didn't have the sense to think the lawyer might have been holding card.  (Asking for a preview of the complaint is a good way to get a handle on something like that.)

[NoSaint]

7 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

To me the easy one is to look at the campus sexual assault reporting with respect to any player you're looking to bring in.  Campus sexual assault has been an issue at several college football programs recently.  Then, I don't know, make a phone call to the AD, to the coach, to campus police and see if there's anything you need to know about these prospects.  It doesn't even have to be "is this guy involved in this issue?"  It can be as simple as "should I keep looking on this issue?" or "do you have any character concerns, even if you can't get into specifics?" or "is there anything that you can't tell me that might embarrass me later?"  It's not that hard.  Two teams were able to figure this out.  Why weren't we?  That's a problem.  

Don't forget prison.  He may go to prison.  He's not out of the woods yet there. 

you don’t always get straight answers on those? Also telling future employers about rumors of issues could be sketchy for an organization. 
 

I agree it’s nice to know first. Sometimes it’s dumb luck if you have a close personal contact in the loop at a random lower tier school 

[DrPJax]

58 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Then. If this is true... Bills need to back him.

 

BUT if it's true... IMO, he's still liable in a civil suit I would think.  Did he make sure she was safe? NO. Obviously she wasn't. 

 

The analogy I can think of is dropping someone off home?  Do you wait until they get door unlocked and enter safely OR just speed off.  Seems to me, Araiza just speed off without making sure she was safe.

 

In a civil case,  the burden is less.   He's still guilty in the situation you explained. Maybe not guilty of the most heinous acts, but still liable for her safety.  It was his residence,  right?

All fair points.  Let’s allow all facts to come out. Is a 21 year old responsible for expecting friends to act like most decent people usually react.  I know my friends back At that age I hung with would never act that terribly and I would trust them if I left a room. In fact my friends in undergrad did watch over some women friends who drank a little too much and had they sexually acted out , why would I be responsible.for them if I was absent and not watching it go down?   If he watched without reporting it , then yes he would be just as guilty asan accomplish.  Choose your friends wisely. I was hoping to get into Med school back then and when you know your career depends on being squeaky clean , you just can’t associate with people who lack appropriate judgement. Just like a career in the nfl , it’s that competitive and any negative marks are useD to weed out the field.  
 

Matt might be learning  a costly life lesson , but he deserves his side to be heard out.  If found civically guilty, then perhaps an arbitrator can help the bills in their resolution. There might be something positive out of this if let’s say like Michael Vick , he continues his career but becomes an advocate so more young men don’t make similar bad choices.  Im just saying , let’s take some time and maybe helping him might be making lemonade from the worst lemons, while still not being dismissive to the poor victim.  Just cutting him may not help in the long game. It’s analogous to helping someone overcome addiction even knowing they have harmed others along the way.  Just a thought. 

Edited August 27, 2022 by DrPJax

[mannc]

1 minute ago, SectionC3 said:

Once, right?  And they didn't follow up.  And they didn't ask to talk to her.  And they didn't ask to see a copy of a draft complaint.  (The last point is an assumption, but holy cow, I can't imagine this guy sticking around if McD/Beane/anyone with a brain saw that thing.)

 

The easiest way to resolve this is to get discovery moving and to get Araiza under oath.  Let's see if he invokes the 5A under questioning.  If that's the case, the Bills side of this is easily resolved.  Of course, that won't happen until after the season starts.  Hence the jam that we're in. 

It’s conceivable that the plaintiff’s lawyer only gave the Bills a hint of what was coming, but maybe Araiza didn’t know either, until the complaint was filed.

 

Here’s what I don’t understand: Why was the plaintiff’s lawyer talking to the Bills? Was it as part of the Bills’ investigation or did plaintiff’s lawyer initiate those calls as part of his “settlement strategy”?

[SectionC3]

Just now, ExiledInIllinois said:

No.  Because then he lied to Bills. Cut him and give him an orange jumpsuit (and I don't mean a Fins Uni).  The Bills cab play victimized role. 

What do you mean no?  The worst part about this is the incident itself.  We're talking here about an entertainment component to a friggin human tragedy.  Some laundry that we have been conditioned to love and some guy who kicks a ball a great distance pale in comparison to what a family likely is enduring as a result of this incident.  

[ExiledInIllinois]

Just now, BTB said:

Not much more can happen to them now?  So the media starting today will no longer bother McD with punt god questions?   I don’t think so.  

Sorta. Don't dwell on it. "Onto next week, next question, danke."

[Beerball]

1 hour ago, Chandler#81 said:

HA! Absolutely everything is correct -to date..

Your “facts” don’t enter into the wrongness of your post. How you use those “facts” most certainly do.

[die hard bills fan]

Ariza is finished.

He has been found guilty by the court of public opinion, and even if he is found innocent by the facts,  I doubt he plays in the nfl anymore. 

[NoSaint]

1 minute ago, BTB said:

Not much more can happen to them now?  So the media starting today will no longer bother McD with punt god questions?   I don’t think so.  

At some point, if they do keep him, you put a wall around the topic and keep moving. He doesn’t have to give emotional responses daily the rest of the year. 
 

I don’t know where this goes ultimately but he’s not going to have hundreds of reporters descending on western ny

[Buffalo_Stampede]

3 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

Unlike any player, that could subject the Bills to a grievance from Araiza's side/NFLPA. I'm not in favor of cutting him if he did nothing wrong. The Bills' FO needs to get it's ***** together, because the actions of drafting him and naming him the starter are contradictory to their actions last night. Something is wrong there.

They can cut for anything they want. They just can’t get money back. 

[SectionC3]

1 minute ago, NoSaint said:

you don’t always get straight answers on those? Also telling future employers about rumors of issues could be sketchy for an organization. 
 

I agree it’s nice to know first. Sometimes it’s dumb luck if you have a close personal contact in the loop at a random lower tier school 

No kidding.  But there's ways to get a better picture.  For example, getting his side of the story, then calling plaintiff's attorney and asking for a copy of the draft complaint is a good start.  And then, I don't know, calling campus police, SD police, the DA, the AD, the coach, NFL contacts in Cali who may have private investigators out there, the NFL itself for PI help, the agent (not the friggin clown lawyer), and getting as much of a picture as you can from there.  The face of your organization should not be discovery new information after the story hits the media.  And if he is, then one of two things happened: you (the investigation lead) screwed up, or Araiza's team was less than forthcoming with you.