Matt Araiza accused of rape, served with a lawsuit.

[The Wiz]

4 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Cut off a limb and count the rings?

 

 

Anyway, they are also alleging rape by intoxication.  There is no mistake of fact defense for that.

Good to know I'm not the only one that still does that. 

[CountDorkula]

1 minute ago, Rc2catch said:

So the victims lawyer, during his twitter rant posted the pics of his texts/emails and he didn’t block out any phone numbers or email addresses? I’m a twitter rookie and even I know to cross out personal info 

Like I said earlier he was tip-toeing a fine line and could potentially get his case thrown out for leaking info. 

[Buffalo03]

16 minutes ago, CountDorkula said:

This is wrong. 

 

How? They were both at a college party. Why is it his job to ask her? And why can't she say "I'm really 17? Why would he assume she's underage? She shouldn't have even been there. If I was at college party for mainly college students, I would assume they are of age. If she said, "I'm 18", is he then supposed to ask her for ID at that point?

[The Wiz]

2 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

So the victims lawyer, during his twitter rant posted the pics of his texts/emails and he didn’t block out any phone numbers or email addresses? I’m a twitter rookie and even I know to cross out personal info 

Dear God I hope Jane Doe wasn't in there.

[nkreed]

3 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

It's in the lawsuit.

The Civil one yes, not the criminal one. 

[SectionC3]

1 minute ago, CountDorkula said:

Like I said earlier he was tip-toeing a fine line and could potentially get his case thrown out for leaking info. 

I’ve practiced for a long time and this would be news to me. 

[Buffalo03]

13 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

"the prosecutor has to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant did not reasonably and actually mistaken the alleged victim’s age."

 

If she testifies that he never asked her age, the prosecutor can claim that there was no way he could "reasonably and actually have mistaken her age"

It was a college party. I think it's safe to assume that the people there should be of college age. I know that's probably how most are thinking when they are all there as well

[CountDorkula]

Just now, Buffalo03 said:

How? They were both at a college party. Why is it his job to ask her? And why can't she say "I'm really 17? Why would he assume she's underage? She shouldn't have even been there. If I was at college party for mainly college students, I would assume they are of age. If she said, "I'm 18", is he then supposed to ask her for ID at that point?

Why is it a bars job to ID me. 
“I’m 21” what’s the point of me showing ID I’m telling you I’m 21. 

[Starr Almighty]

8 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

I’m not sure it is that cut and dry. Notice it also says “could be charged” and not “will be charged”. 
 

Hypothetically if a girl has a fake ID and is drinking at a bar, has sex with someone she meets there and later is found out to be 17 I don’t see that as a slam dunk case against the accused.

 

 

According to this lady on this news report it is 

[Rc2catch]

1 minute ago, SCBills said:

Honestly, my opinion of the Bills FO and this absolute joke of a lawyer are why I’m waiting for some kind of vindication for Araiza to be imminent. 
 

But then Araiza’s lawyer, or whoever that is, decides to utter the phrase “cash grab” with the subtlety of a brick and I’m just at a loss…

 

End of the day, Bills probably have 3-5 days to make this go away.  No way the NFL let’s us open the season with this guy on the roster and this hanging over him. 

When it started I was fully sympathetic to the victim in this. 
Her lawyers actions have me thinking he is losing HIS pay day out of this though. 
Which sucks because I do believe the girl was raped that night. I’m not sure what Matt’s role is in any of this. I’m kind of hoping the league just puts him on the exempt list tomorrow until it’s all resolved. Helps the team, Matt can still collect his checks, if he’s guilty it won’t matter cause he’ll lose all the money later on. If he is innocent he’ll be ready to go. 

[CountDorkula]

2 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

I’ve practiced for a long time and this would be news to me. 

Couldn’t some of that information that potentially be privilege?

 

releasing documents without redacting names, numbers and emails also not an issue?

Edited August 26, 2022 by CountDorkula

[The Wiz]

1 minute ago, CountDorkula said:

Why is it a bars job to ID me. 
“I’m 21” what’s the point of me showing ID I’m telling you I’m 21. 

Because by law, anyone going to a bar needs to be 21.

 

Anyone going to a party in college doesn't needs to be 18.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

11 minutes ago, sven233 said:

This whole story is crazy......and so is all the speculation surrounding it.  Been following this all night just like everyone else, but everyone is just going around in circles and insisting their opinion is the obvious answer.  Some want him cut immediately.  Some think this is just a money grab and that the whole thing is bogus.

 

The fact is, none of us know what happened that night.  None of us were there.  But here is what I have gathered that requires no speculation at all:

 

1.  None of us were there and can possibly prove one way or another what actually happened.

2.  Both of the lawyers have shown to be rather stupid and unprofessional.  I mean, who makes statements publicly like Araiza's attorney did?  And who posts text messages about conversations between the lawyers themselves, some of which seem to contradict the point he was trying to make in the first place?  I don't know either of them, but they both come across as having a bit of "bargain basement" in them and they should probably both just shut up and do this out of the public eye.  It's not helping either one of them.

3.  The Bills we made aware of all this almost a month ago now.  I can virtually guarantee they have a lot more information than any of us do.

4.  That said, the Bills based on all of the information they have regarding the incident in question, in the midst of a punter competition, cut a guy that by all accounts was having a solid camp in order to keep a rookie, with a pending lawsuit they knew was coming, and would get out to the public.

5.  IF....and it may be a big IF.....  Araiza plays tomorrow night after all this has come to light and hasn't already been cut, the Bills obviously feel very strongly with the information they have that the public does not at this point that this situation is something that will not impact the organization in an overwhelmingly negative way to publicly stand by and support Araiza as this plays out.

 

As I said.....I have no idea what happened at that party/gathering and I am not going to assume or speculate on anything based on what has been made public.  If the allegations turn out to be true, of course he should be cut and prosecuted to the furthest extent of the law.  But I have seen so many people come out and try to cut the player because he's a "only a punter" and we don't need the distraction.  That's a trash take.  It makes no difference what position he played.  Would you all be coming with the same energy to cut a player immediately if it was Allen we were talking about? 

 

Let this play out with the information that the lawyers and the team has.  I firmly believe that if he is indeed involved in all of this that the organization will not hesitate to cut him.  I also believe that this organization will not just have a knee-jerk reaction like many people expressing their opinions based on the little information the public has as compared to the parties involved.

good post. But I disagree with the main point because unfortunately, trash take or not, he is in fact just a punter. And on a team that doesn’t figure on punting much at all. 
 

Would we be saying the same thing if an accusation came out against Allen? Of course not. Talent and value trump all in this game. Always have and always will. But that’s why Allen’s got $258 million in the bank and Araiza is a JAG.

 

Of course Allen has also been here for five years in the community and we have seen all the good he has done for the community as well. 
 

Part of me also feels like maybe if this were the drought era Bills I would be willing to keep Araiza on the practice squad and see if things out for him in the long run. But with the team having legitimate super bowl aspirations I just don’t think we need the headache that  the case will bring. It’s a total buzzkill to what otherwise should be a great season to enjoy.

[SectionC3]

8 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Honestly, my opinion of the Bills FO and this absolute joke of a lawyer are why I’m waiting for some kind of vindication for Araiza to be imminent. 
 

But then Araiza’s lawyer, or whoever that is, decides to utter the phrase “cash grab” with the subtlety of a brick and I’m just at a loss…

 

End of the day, Bills probably have 3-5 days to make this go away.  No way the NFL let’s us open the season with this guy on the roster and this hanging over him. 

Your opinion of inside counsel is higher than mine. 

[Starr Almighty]

17 minutes ago, mikemac2001 said:

Still this seems bs if multiple times she said she was 18 which some reports said. I’m not trying to side with it but if she lied multiple times about her age in front of people like wtf he would have her ID.

 

These situations trigger me bc it’s all he said she said but if there are people to vouch she said 18 then she lied about that 

 

now the other stuff idk 

Watch the video I posted. The lady said even if she lied he can be charged.

[HappyDays]

7 minutes ago, nkreed said:

The civil suit implies strongly that Ariza was involved in the gang rape. From the suit directly:

 

Araiza then led Doe inside the house, past the living room, and into a bedroom. There
were at least three other men already in the bedroom, including defendants Leonard and Ewaliko. 
Once inside, Araiza threw Doe onto the bed face first. Doe went in and out of consciousness while
she was being raped, but she does remember some moments from the horrific gang rape.

 

 

 

There is no allegation made in that text that Araiza participated in the rape. And let's keep in mind this is the plaintiff's wording. A phrase like "Araiza threw her onto the bed face first" is very specifically worded to make his actions look worse. I'm not going to sit here and act like I know how much of the girl's story is true. I'm usually inclined to believe the victim in cases like this. To me, if Araiza even knew that a gang rape was happening and didn't do anything that is more than enough for me to want him gone yesterday. But the civil suit doesn't directly allege that he participated or knew anything was going on.

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by HappyDays

[Beck Water]

10 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

It actually is not clear to me that Araiza is being accused of participating in the alleged gang rape. That was my initial perception too, but the LA Times story doesn't make that connection.

 

The Times of San Diego published a link to the actual lawsuit:

https://timesofsandiego.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/player-suit.pdf

 

In the lawsuit, Jane Doe alleges that Araiza led Doe into a bedroom where 3 other men were waiting, threw her onto the bed face first, and "the men took turns having sex with her from behind". 

 

So yeah, he is being accused of participating in the gang rape.

 

Quote

Araiza then led Doe inside the house, past the living room, and into a bedroom. There
were at least three other men already in the bedroom, including defendants Leonard and Ewaliko.
Once inside, Araiza threw Doe onto the bed face first. Doe went in and out of consciousness while
she was being raped, but she does remember some moments from the horrific gang rape. During
this time, her phone was also taken. The men took turns having sex with her from behind while she
lay face first on the mattress. She saw a light in her periphery, as if someone was taking a video
using a cell phone. Eventually the rapists turned Doe so that one of them could force his penis into
her mouth while another man performed oral sex on her. At one point while Doe was in the
bedroom, her friend tried to get inside the house from the backyard. Roe 1 prevented her from
coming inside. Doe was raped for about an hour and a half until the party was shut down. Doe
stumbled out of the room bloody and crying. Her nose, belly button, and ear piercings had been
pulled out, and she was also bleeding from her *****

 

[chongli]

3 minutes ago, CountDorkula said:

Why is it a bars job to ID me. 
“I’m 21” what’s the point of me showing ID I’m telling you I’m 21. 

 

Because a bar has that statutory requirement. Humans hooking up don't.

[Rc2catch]

4 minutes ago, The Wiz said:

Dear God I hope Jane Doe wasn't in there.

I don’t know, it had the lady he contacted for the Bills, another woman’s name for the bcc and he left araizas lawyers phone number on the texts. 

[Buffalo03]

5 minutes ago, CountDorkula said:

Why is it a bars job to ID me. 
“I’m 21” what’s the point of me showing ID I’m telling you I’m 21. 

A bar is also a place of business with a requirement of complying with people 21 and older to serve them alcohol. They could lose their alcohol license and be forced to shut down. This is a terrible comparison. It is not a man's job to ask a girl he is about to have sex with for proof of her ID. She is more than old enough to say "I am a minor". If he then proceeds, then he is 100% at fault. 

Edited August 26, 2022 by Buffalo03

[SectionC3]

2 minutes ago, CountDorkula said:

Couldn’t some of that information that potentially be privilege?

 

releasing documents without redacting names, numbers and emails also not an issue?

Even if all of this is true—and it isn’t—it wouldn’t support dismissal on the merits.  

[Starr Almighty]

21 minutes ago, chongli said:

 

Sure, they can arrest him, but convicting in front of a skeptical jury is another thing.

If he had sex with her and it can be proven it's rape. That's besides all the other claims the young lady is making

[nkreed]

3 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

There is no allegation made in that text that Araiza participated in the rape. And let's keep in mind this is the plaintiff's wording. A phrase like "Araiza threw her onto the bed face first" is very specifically worded to make his actions look worse. I'm not going to sit here and act like I know how much of the girl's story is true. I'm usually inclined to believe the victim in cases like this. To me, if Araiza even knew that a gang rape was happening and didn't do anything that is more than enough for me to want him gone yesterday. But the civil suit doesn't directly allege that he participated or knew anything was going on.

 

Hence why I said strongly implies.

 

[The Wiz]

2 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

I don’t know, it had the lady he contacted for the Bills, another woman’s name for the bcc and he left araizas lawyers phone number on the texts. 

Well that sounds intentional if you ask me.

 

Curious who the bcc email is for.   I'm guessing the Bills or Ariaza attorney office. 

[HappyDays]

5 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

The Times of San Diego published a link to the actual lawsuit:

https://timesofsandiego.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/player-suit.pdf

 

In the lawsuit, Jane Doe alleges that Araiza led Doe into a bedroom where 3 other men were waiting, threw her onto the bed face first, and "the men took turns having sex with her from behind". 

 

So yeah, he is being accused of participating in the gang rape.

 

See my post above. He is not mentioned as one of the men that allegedly gang raped her. I can see how someone reading that text would pick up that implication. But legal text is very very specific. What's not said is equally important to what is said. Nowhere in that lawsuit is Araiza directly accused of participating in the gang rape. If his attorney isn't lying, there are witnesses from the party that can corroborate Araiza's version of events that he was not in the room when any alleged rape took place.

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by HappyDays

[Beck Water]

1 minute ago, HappyDays said:

There is no allegation made in that text that Araiza participated in the rape. And let's keep in mind this is the plaintiff's wording. A phrase like "Araiza threw her onto the bed face first" is very specifically worded to make his actions look worse. I'm not going to sit here and act like I know how much of the girl's story is true. I'm usually inclined to believe the victim in cases like this. To me, if Araiza even knew that a gang rape was happening and didn't do anything that is more than enough for me to want him gone yesterday. But the civil suit doesn't directly allege that he participated or knew anything was going on. It's very clearly trying to get the reader to have that implication, but it's less direct than that.

 

I'm no legal eagle, nor do I take the allegations at face value.  But the allegations also assert that Araiza gave her a spiked drink:

 

Quote

Early on in the evening, Doe  became separated from her friends and was approached by Araiza, who could observe that Doe was
heavily intoxicated. He handed her a drink anyway. Doe did not see Araiza pour her drink, but she accepted the drink and began consuming it. Upon information and belief, this drink not only contained alcohol, but other intoxicating substances.

 

IMHO, if you give someone a spiked drink and throw them face down on a bed in a bedroom with 3 men, and a gang rape occurs, it's a pretty fine line to say he didn't "participate" in the alleged gang rape, even if he himself did not stay in the room. 

 

After reading the lawsuit, I would have to say they are indeed alleging that he participated in the gang rape.

[Einstein]

Whether innocent or guilty, I can’t believe his attorney didn’t settle this case when the alleged victim was willing to.

 

Have these attorneys learned nothing from the handling of the Watson case? Florio did an amazing breakdown where he showed how much Watson would have saved (millions) if he accepted the first settlement offer.

[CountDorkula]

2 minutes ago, chongli said:

 

Because a bar has that statutory requirement. Humans hooking up don't.

Humans hooking up very much have requirements. 
 

If I were to go to a college party should I just assume everyone is 18+ and try to hook up with some drunk girls and just assume they are old enough.  
 

You can’t Assume without being an Ass first. 
 

Out of all the football players in the NFL, how many are currently going through this. 
 

Matt Araiza and Matt Araiza alone put himself in a bad spot. 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

13 minutes ago, RussellDopeland said:

This is a colossal goat f***! I cannot believe that this team would saddle itself with this crap, on the cusp of a season where they are a Super Bowl favorite. The longer this festers, the worse it will be for the team, especially if they "close ranks" around this bonehead, a rookie PUNTER, who is already becoming a gangrenous limb. Loyalty to a rookie punter, who has questionable judgement is, in and unto itself, terrible judgement on the part of this front office and staff. What he did-or didn't do, doesn't matter. He's a millstone around this franchise's neck now. They need to cut and run. 

Couldn’t agree more. I fully expect him to be released by noon eastern time tomorrow at the latest.  At least I hope so. They can’t trot him onto the field tomorrow against the Panthers.

[sven233]

2 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

good post. But I disagree with the main point because unfortunately, trash take or not, he is in fact just a punter. And on a team that doesn’t figure on punting much at all. 
 

Would we be saying the same thing if an accusation came out against Allen? Of course not. Talent and value trump all in this game. Always have and always will. But that’s why Allen’s got $258 million in the bank and Araiza is a JAG.

 

Of course Allen has also been here for five years in the community and we have seen all the good he has done for the community as well. 
 

Part of me also feels like maybe if this were the drought era Bills I would be willing to keep Araiza on the practice squad and see if things out for him in the long run. But with the team having legitimate super bowl aspirations I just don’t think we need the headache that  the case will bring. It’s a total buzzkill to what otherwise should be a great season to enjoy.

 

Except this is bigger than football.  Bigger than the game and what happens on Sundays.  This is about PEOPLE and the rest of their lives.  It absolutely does not matter what position a guy plays.  A punter (a human being) has the same rights to defend himself and clear his name as a superstar QB (a human being).  No one human being should ever be treated different than another human being.  To say someone should get cut and have his life ruined while someone else should get the benefit of the doubt and let the process play out because of a position they play in a sport is not a good take or look at all.

[par73]

5 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

He admitted having sex with her. She claims she told him she was 17. I don’t really believe that to be honest. But it’s a rape investigation and she was likely still drunk when the rape kit was performed. 
 

Arazia might not have been in the room

where the worst happened. But he still had sex with a drunk girl at a party that is claiming rape. 
 

If the evidence shows no DNA matches Arazia maybe he can escape.

And took her to a room, where the worst of the allegations took place. With this story out there for so long, it is hard to believe the Bills did not know there was an issue with this guy. At this point (yes, I believe in innocent until proven guilty), with the distraction to the team with the media , and a quick resolution unlikely, I don't see how he can remain on the team.

Edited August 26, 2022 by par73

[Mango]

12 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

It actually is not clear to me that Araiza is being accused of participating in the alleged gang rape. That was my initial perception too, but the LA Times story doesn't make that connection. It seems like he is being accused of statutory rape with a 17 year old, and others at the party were responsible for anything else that allegedly happened. Is a 21 year old unknowingly having sex with a 17 year old at a college party an unspeakable crime? I don't think it is. At the very least Araiza put himself in a really bad situation, but everyone who went to college knows that drunk sex between strangers happens all the time.

 

I will wait for more facts to come out before I decide if Araiza should lose his career over this. I think the Bills should at least sideline him for the final preseason game and give the story a couple weeks to develop before putting him in front of fans.

I think the board is largely focusing on her age. But there are two other serious allegations that are my biggest concerns. 
 

1. She is claiming to be roofied. And that happened after drinking the beer Araiza gave her. She went to the hospital “a day later” I don’t know if that’s the next day or the day after? If she was roofied it can work it’s way out of her system in 12 hours depending on the drug used. A negative tox screen doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. 
 

2. He brought her to the room in which she was raped for 90 minutes by 3-5 of his friends (and possibly him?). 
 

I believe his attorney said in the TV interview that it wasn’t a huge ranger. Rather more of a gathering with some beers. If that’s the case, how did he not know WTF was going on upstairs when his buddies and the girl who just blew him were missing for over an hour. 
 

I don’t know that Araiza will get convicted or even charged with anything. It is often so hard to even get to trial. I know in my sisters case it took well over a year and the police said all sorts of terrible things to her. But I do firmly believe that he’s trash. 

[Mr. WEO]

11 minutes ago, Buffalo03 said:

It was a college party. I think it's safe to assume that the people there should be of college age. I know that's probably how most are thinking when they are all there as well

 

his lawyer said it wasn't a party

[Buffalo03]

Just now, Mr. WEO said:

 

his lawyer said it wasn't a party

It was reported that it was an off campus college party

[Rc2catch]

Just now, Einstein said:

Whether innocent or guilty, I can’t believe his attorney didn’t settle this case when the alleged victim was willing to.

 

Have these attorneys learned nothing from the handling of the Watson case? Florio did an amazing breakdown where he showed how much Watson would have saved (millions) if he accepted the first settlement offer.

To be fair, he’s a 6th round punter. Depending on what they’re asking, he might not even be worth that much yet. Let’s say they asked for 5 million, doubt him and his parents have that

[SCBills]

14 minutes ago, CountDorkula said:

Why is it a bars job to ID me. 
“I’m 21” what’s the point of me showing ID I’m telling you I’m 21. 

I hate to inform you, but drunk college kids aren’t carding each other before sex.

 

Setting quite the precedent here. 
 

Shouldn’t it be reasonable to assume someone at a college get together is of college age, unless told otherwise?  This isn’t a 50 year old mistakenly hooking up with a 17 year old… there’s like 1-3 years apart here.  


 

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by SCBills

[SectionC3]

Just now, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

Couldn’t agree more. I fully expect him to be released by noon eastern time tomorrow at the latest.  At least I hope so. They can’t trot him onto the field tomorrow against the Panthers.

They’re going to clean out their legal department soon, too.  This is a massive mess. 

[HappyDays]

4 minutes ago, nkreed said:

Hence why I said strongly implies.

 

 

Yes and I think the plaintiff's attorney was rather intentional in how he implied the highest profile member of the allegation was involved, without directly coming out and saying it. Meanwhile there are supposedly witnesses that can attest to Araiza not being in the room.

 

This is a really gross situation. More facts will come out. We'll have to be patient.

[Mr. WEO]

14 minutes ago, nkreed said:

The Civil one yes, not the criminal one. 

 

We won't be awaiting  DA's determination for that.

[Beck Water]

1 minute ago, HappyDays said:

 

See my post above. He is not mentioned as one of the men that allegedly gang raped her. I can see how someone reading that text would pick up that implication. But legal text is very very specific. What's not said is equally important to what is said. Nowhere in that lawsuit is Araiza directly accused of participating in the gang rape. If his attorney isn't lying, there are witnesses from the party that can corroborate Araiza's stance that he was not in the room when any alleged rape took place.

 

I'm not a legal beagle, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn, but the giving her spiked drink and dumping her on the bed in the room with the guys seems like "participating", morally certainly....legally as an accessory before the fact or something like that? 

 

I do see your point that they aren't explicitly stating that he is known to have participated in the actual gang rape or even to be in the room while it took place.