McDermott/Beane press conference 8/27: Matt Araiza released

[Jamone]

Rapegod. 🤢

[BuffaloBob]

41 minutes ago, Mij yllek said:

so much for innocent until proven guilty

Is he on his way to prison? NO! He is still presumed innocent legally.
 

But this team has no need for this kind of distraction.  And I suspect he was not as forthcoming with the Bills as he should have been. That is a breach of trust that this team must move on from.  

[Punching Bag]

10 minutes ago, buffaloboyinATL said:

The team investigated this. They are not basing it off of the accusation alone. But they are not burdened with the requirement of “beyond a reasonable doubt”.  If they think there is even a chance that it is true, they are smart to move on.  

 

The team apparently let him go because he was dishonest with them.  Many employers will do that. 

Like the one down by Texans' QB (After the civil lawsuit was filed he was suspended by commissioner).

Edited August 28, 2022 by Limeaid

[BillsFan130]

6 minutes ago, BigDingus said:

 

On the flipside, the Browns fully knew of the allegations against Watson, & still decided to trade a massive amount of capital & award him a record breaking contract.

 

The Bills on the other hand, either didn't know at all or knew very little, and only used a 6th round pick on him.

100 percent.

 

Like I said, I'm not saying what the browns did was right.

 

Just very different circumstances all around

[MAJBobby]

13 minutes ago, Behindenemylines said:

It may have as much to do with all of the other factors as much as the facts or lack thereof.  
 

Best for the team.  And if it’s proven he is innocent then he can rebuild and move on. It’s not exactly like he was just a stranger caught up in something based on the initial evidence.  He was in the situation to a degree. 

I have to guess as well he wasn’t forthcoming with the Bills about it at all. That likely drove this decision more than anything. 

[ToGoGo]

30 minutes ago, Shake_My_Head said:

Bully for Tim.   But why do we need TG if we can listen to Beane and McD and form our own opinions rather than have him filter it for us?

 

Bingo. Boom. Winner. 

 

We don't need them. They're middlemen. Desperate for self importance. 

[Captain Hindsight]

3 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:

I'm just wondering why didn't he pay a settlement and have her sign an NDA to make it go away? Why did he take the phone call from her after the fact?

 

If he was guilty, wouldn't he pay to get her under NDA and not take a phone call from her? Anyone wonder if the Bills legal dept was pushing for an NDA and he said I'm not guilty and not paying for something I didn't do? 

Well, he might just be stupid

 

Or he let  “Punt God” get to his head a bit 

[ToGoGo]

3 minutes ago, BuffaloBob said:

Is he on his way to prison? NO! He is still presumed innocent legally.
 

But this team has no need for this kind of distraction.  And I suspect he was not as forthcoming with the Bills as he should have been. That is a breach of trust that this team must move on from.  

 

I'm not convinced Matt is guilty but I was going to side with whatever decision McDermott and Beane would make. They tend to know what the best move is.

 

If they felt he needed to go, then he needed to go. 

[strive_for_five_guy]

3 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:

I'm just wondering why didn't he pay a settlement and have her sign an NDA to make it go away? Why did he take the phone call from her after the fact?

 

If he was guilty, wouldn't he pay to get her under NDA and not take a phone call from her? Anyone wonder if the Bills legal dept was pushing for an NDA and he said I'm not guilty and not paying for something I didn't do? 

I don’t think the Bills legal department knew the half of the charges coming.  The kid may just have extremely poor judgment altogether, hence the situation he has found himself in.

[KHAN]

Signing with Cleveland in 3... 2... 1...

[PromoTheRobot]

Just now, strive_for_five_guy said:

I don’t think the Bills legal department knew the half of the charges coming.  The kid may just have extremely poor judgment altogether, hence the situation he has found himself in.

 

So far there are ZERO charges. He was sued, not charged.

Edited August 28, 2022 by PromoTheRobot

[Ralonzo]

12 minutes ago, Dick_Cheney said:

Undoubtedly, there will be a moment or two this season where something critically horrible happens because of a bad punt. Bills did the right thing here.

 

You mean like last year? That's the thing they were trying to fix, thought they fixed, and have unfixed.

[MAJBobby]

Moral of Story for all incoming players. Do what your position can handle. 
 

obviously a Punter isn’t a position that is going to get a lot of rope from a team. 

[strive_for_five_guy]

Just now, PromoTheRobot said:

 

So far there are ZERO charges. 

Is accusation the better term?  

[BurpleBull]

3 minutes ago, BigDingus said:

 

You wanted the Bills, a team expected to compete for a Super Bowl, to die on this hill for a 6th round rookie punter accused of something THIS heinous (therefore leading to months of headlines, boycotts, backlash & fan anger each day he's on the team)?

 

Pretty stupid hill to die on when you have much more important things to worry about. Should probably be wishing good luck to the victim.

 

Bills should've stuck to their guns. This release is going to haunt Beane forever if he ends up signing elsewhere. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime talent released due to social and media pressure.

 

Sad day. You don't throw family to the side like that. But that's just me.

[Pokebball]

Impressed with the way mgmt handled this.

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

If it ever happens. Post updates here. It has been pushed back twice and is now 2 hours past practice. I may not be able to check for updates

 

 

 

^^^WTF is this, an altar?  Where's the Eucharist?

[mannc]

12 minutes ago, stevestojan said:

Great! So when he clears his name, we’ll welcome him back with open arms. Or another team will. OR, any other team can pick him up.  They can do that right this second as a matter of fact. Since the Bills treated him so unfairly here, there should be a line of NFL GMs at his door right now.  You have to be good with that, right? 

Absolutely…

[strive_for_five_guy]

1 minute ago, BurpleBull said:

 

Bills should've stuck to their guns. This release is going to haunt Beane forever if he ends up signing elsewhere. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime talent released due to social and media pressure.

 

Sad day. You don't throw family to the side like that. But that's just me.

If Araiza lied to the Bills about aspects of situation, is he really a part of the “family”?

[Punching Bag]

5 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Well, he might just be stupid

 

Or he let  “Punt God” get to his head a bit 

 

 

 

[Bangarang]

This decision was a layup.

[Fleezoid]

18 minutes ago, mannc said:

A civil lawsuit was filed only 48-hours ago and Ariza's had little or no opportunity to respond.  (In the legal system, he's got 30 days to respond to the complaint.)  Although the allegations are horrifying, the "evidence" against him that's been produced so far is not very convincing.   

 

I get that part. But releasing him may have been more about the Bills investigation in July, followed by new information just days ago. I'm sure they sat down with Araize in July and discussed it. If they said, "Matt, we've looked in to this carefully and have done X, Y and Z, is there anything else we need to know?" If he withheld anything that came out days ago, that alone is enough to part ways. It's about trust and confidence. It may not have happened that way, but it's definitely a possibility. 

[ExiledInIllinois]

Just get us a punter with a 50+ yard average... I can handle a little worse field position per series. But... None of this below 45 crap.  

[ColoradoBills]

I have to ask again for all the fans who don't like MA's release.

 

Who is willing to bet another team picks him up on waivers?

[ExiledInIllinois]

Just now, Fleezoid said:

 

I get that part. But releasing him may have been more about the Bills investigation in July, followed by new information just days ago. I'm sure they sat down with Araize in July and discussed it. If they said, "Matt, we've looked in to this carefully and have done X, Y and Z, is there anything else we need to know?" If he withheld anything that came out days ago, that alone is enough to part ways. It's about trust and confidence. It may not have happened that way, but it's definitely a possibility. 

OR... The mob cracked the Bills.

[chongli]

Did Buffalo's reputation take a hit? If so, will it soon be forgotten? It took the Patriots longer to release Aaron Hernandez, and their reputation did not really suffer.

 

Also, shouldn't have Houston done the same thing (release) Deshaun Watson??

 

Just wondering.

Edited August 28, 2022 by chongli

[Rico]

3 minutes ago, BurpleBull said:

 

Bills should've stuck to their guns. This release is going to haunt Beane forever if he ends up signing elsewhere. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime talent released due to social and media pressure.

 

Sad day. You don't throw family to the side like that. But that's just me.

Beane can not be haunted by any decision he makes, that’s why he is the MAN. 

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 minute ago, ColoradoBills said:

I have to ask again for all the fans who don't like MA's release.

 

Who is willing to bet another team picks him up on waivers?

The Raiders.  😆  Fins.  What odds you giving? 😉 

1 minute ago, chongli said:

Did Buffalo's reputation take a hit? If so, will it soon be forgotten? It took the Patriots longer to release Aaron Hernandez, and their reputation did not really suffer.

 

Also, shouldn't have Houston done the same thing (release) Deshaun Watson??

 

Just wondering.

NO!  Actually Bills reputation is bolstered!

Edited August 28, 2022 by ExiledInIllinois

[78thealltimegreat]

17 minutes ago, Solomon Grundy said:

So did your daughter 😎

Yeh but neither party wants her now. Matt if he clears his name has a chance at an Nfl career again at least 

[Paup 1995MVP]

9 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

The legal processes will work out in regard to the civil and no doubt criminal aspects of this case.

 

That being said, for all the Buffalo Bills fans that don't agree with the releasing of MA I only have one thing to say.

 

All 31 other NFL teams have a chance to claim MA off waivers or sign after as a FA if no one picks him up tomorrow.

 

Will the other 31 teams temper your opinion of the Bills if no one puts him on their roster?

 

 

He was a distraction to the team.  Its that simple.  He had no clout to stay any longer when he was going to be a distraction as a rookie punter. 

 

Who doesn't agree with him being cut?  The guy is being sued for taking part in a gang rape of a 17 year old girl at an off campus college party.  To be associated with that in any form or fashion is terrible.  The Bills are a professional sports team in the national and international public eye.  They can't have their players connected with this in the slightest.  This isn't a bar fight or even a DUI.  This is bad *****.  We all know that.  The Bills did not do their homework on Araiza.  Got to talk to people on campus about the guy-coaches, teammates, other students, figure out the vibe on this guy.  People talk about others all the time.  This was not some secret.  But you live and learn.  Lets move forward and be the best team we can be.  That's all that matters now.  

[pennstate10]

10 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

The team apparently let him go because he was dishonest with them.  Many employers will do that. 

Like the one down by Texans' QB (After the civil lawsuit was filed he was suspended by commissioner).

He was dishonest with the Bills?

 

Is there any evidence to support this statement or are you simply making ish up?

[Southern_Bills]

56 minutes ago, Mij yllek said:

so much for innocent until proven guilty

 

I can tell you there are many jobs that will let you go over legal situations before you are convicted. 

 

Surprising it isn't the commissioners list or something of that, but I guess they wanted the situation away from the team. 

[stevewin]

13 minutes ago, JayBaller10 said:

Hopefully the team moves past this rather fast and gets back to focusing on the season. I have no doubt it’s like a gray cloud hanging over them right now, they just lost a teammate and it wasn’t due to his on the field performance. As far as Araiza, at the very least he’s an idiot for putting himself in a situation where he could be accused. I’ll be interested to see how it all plays out and if Araiza is found to be completely innocent of all rape related charges, I cannot fault the Bills for cutting ties. Too much of a distraction.

On your first point, I appreciate what you are saying, but I honestly believe the tone in the locker room is more likely relief/gladness that the teammate is gone and all the craziness that went with it - I think the skies are more blue than grey now

[ColoradoBills]

1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

The Raiders.  😆  Fins.  What odd you giving? 😉

 

LOL.  Odds?  NO ONE WILL PICK HIM UP, and you know it.

[Sharky7337]

Just figures the first time I'm excited about a punter it goes down in a billsy way. 

 

If any fan base has some karma to spend it had to be us. One of these days we will get a SB.

 

Hope the allegations re not true but it sounds bad.

Edited August 28, 2022 by Sharky7337

[Steptide]

Will be interesting to see where this all goes. 

[chongli]

2 minutes ago, Rico said:

Beane can not be haunted by any decision he makes, that’s why he is the MAN. 

 

Well, other than trading away a future All Pro (Wyatt Teller) for a low pick.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Bears punters (next punter taken after MA) just kicked it 50+ yards.

[Pokebball]

3 minutes ago, chongli said:

Did Buffalo's reputation take a hit? If so, will it soon be forgotten? It took the Patriots longer to release Aaron Hernandez, and their reputation did not really suffer.

 

Also, shouldn't have Houston done the same thing (release) Deshaun Watson??

 

Just wondering.

I don't think the Bill's reputation took any hit. I think Bean's decision will be respected by most.

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 minute ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

LOL.  Odds?  NO ONE WILL PICK HIM UP, and you know it.

I hope!!!