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

[Augie]

4 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Wearing other's jersey is creepy.  You and me aren't the QB's girlfriend in Grade 10 study hall on a Friday afternoon! 😉

 

No. Not in many years. 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

1 minute ago, Nelius said:

 

It's actually also my name but hey heck of a jump. I'll change the pic if it bothers you that much.

 

A jump?

 

Your avatar is a picture of rapist Cornelius Bennett.

 

Interesting reaction to finding out you are clueless.........don't shoot the messenger, Cornelius.

[ExiledInIllinois]

It was his residence.   He's screwed!

 

"...A lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court accused Araiza and two teammates of raping a then-17-year-old girl at a Halloween party at an off-campus home where Araiza had been living. A San Diego police investigation has been turned over to the district attorney’s office to determine whether to pursue charges. DA spokeswoman Tanya Sierra said Friday there was no timeline as to how long a decision will take. ..."

[Jay_Fixit]

1 hour ago, Warcodered said:

Right if they're not screwing up a hold they're shanking every other punt, or getting sued for sexually assaulting a minor.

It’s mind blowing to me the amount of time this board spends talking about punters.

[Nelius]

1 minute ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

A jump?

 

Your avatar is a picture of rapist Cornelius Bennett.

 

Interesting reaction to finding out you are clueless.........don't shoot the messenger, Cornelius.

 

I mean it's my name dude I'm sorry if that reaction floors you. Your tangent is interesting.

[Warcodered]

4 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

Quote

The team then stood by the player by announcing it “conducted a thorough examination” into the matter a day after the lawsuit was filed.

 

I think that's a bit much he didn't play in the game that day and was cut the following day, not sure I'd call that standing by him.

[Albany,n.y.]

3 minutes ago, Jay_Fixit said:

It’s mind blowing to me the amount of time this board spends talking about punters.

Just wait until we sign the new punter.  300 page minimum. 

[Augie]

4 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

Actually, he got his client what she wanted. She said last month she's not in it for the money and that she doesn't want MA to make money in the NFL. 

 

It was Araiza's attorney that reached out and offered for a cash settlement first. Her attorney said no settlement. It was Araiza's attorney that warned not to force the Bills hand to cut him bc they're be no money to get. 

 

They want public, said it wasn't about money. Now he's cut and won't get his salary. The claim that it's a cash grab holds little water. 

 

 

Who does NOT say it’s not about the money?

 

We’ll probably never know, but why go after the one guy who happened to make an NFL team, right when he made it. I think I’d have gone after SDSU first. Who do you think has deeper pockets?  Hint: It is not a 6th round rookie. I don’t care if the police told them they were handling it, that institution bears some blame if they let this slide.  There is something strange about all this, and none of us know all the facts. Certainly not myself. 

[McDeerInTheHeadlights]

I can't listen to the interview right now,  so I hope someone can clarify a couple of points.

 

Have they been asked or addressed if they explored any other options such as putting Araiza on some kind of exemption list or suspend and replace him till things got clearer rather than releasing him outright?

 

If I'm not mistaken, few, well very few apparently, teams were aware to a minor extent that there was a "situation" involving Araiza at draft time. Have they been asked why they think they failed to gather similar intelligence at the time and how they expect to make sure it won't happen again?

 

In other words, was this press conference a pure PR operation or there was some kind of self-reflection or root cause analysis, if you wish to call it that, involved?

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited August 28, 2022 by McDeerInTheHeadlights

[Bubba Gump]

1 hour ago, BigDingus said:

 

And her's.

Supposedly she told her father soon after. I have three daughter's, and if one if them told me that...I'd be locked up for the rest of my life. I'd find him and absolutely destroy him. 

[ExiledInIllinois]

11 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

Actually, he got his client what she wanted. She said last month she's not in it for the money and that she doesn't want MA to make money in the NFL. 

 

It was Araiza's attorney that reached out and offered for a cash settlement first. Her attorney said no settlement. It was Araiza's attorney that warned not to force the Bills hand to cut him bc they're be no money to get. 

 

They want public, said it wasn't about money. Now he's cut and won't get his salary. The claim that it's a cash grab holds little water. 

 

First I heard this clearly.  Thnx.

 

Fair enough.

 

Once again,  if it makes her whole, it makes her whole.  Why should he get rich in the world of have's and many have not!

 

Punt him to a Wendy's drive-thru.  You want a chocolate Frosty with that!

Edited August 28, 2022 by ExiledInIllinois

[John from Riverside]

2 hours ago, djp14150 said:

This concept of innocent until proven guilty.

 

if you want toget rid of a coworker because you two appear to be the leaders fir a promotion…have someone make a claim against him then he gets removed and you win.  It does not matter if it’s actually true.

How does that fly in this case Ariza literally was the only competition

[chongli]

Now that the Bills have done the right thing, I'm just waiting for the Rams to do the right thing too, and suspend Aaron Donald for one game for helmet swinging. 😄

[Motorin']

1 minute ago, Augie said:

 

Who does NOT say it’s not about the money?

 

We’ll probably never know, but why go after the one guy who happened to make an NFL team, right when he made it. I think I’d have gone after SDSU first. Who do you think has deeper pockets?  Hint: It is not a 6th round rookie. I don’t care if the police told them they were handling it, that institution bears some blame if they let this slide.  There is something strange about all this, and none of us know all the facts. Certainly not myself. 

 

She said it's not about her getting money. But about her getting justice, and she doesn't want to see him make a ton of money. 

 

She came forward publicly on June 3rd to the media in San Diego. 

 

If it was a money grab, they would have waited as long as possible so that he'd have more money to go after. 

[Meatloaf63]

2 hours ago, Ralonzo said:

A victory for emotion over reason. Would rather have seen a balanced approach from the team, league, and society. Welcome to 2022 I guess..

 

I wonder how the rest of the NFL feels about anyone with an ax to grind and a sleazy lawyer being able to turn the outcomes of games, seasons, careers, with well timed Twitter ambushes. Is it too much to wonder, with the amount of wagering that is constantly being promoted, that where the sums are great and the margins are thin that anything becomes fair game?

The easy  path was to just release him. The hard path would have been to stand up to the cancel culture and wait for this to be settled in a court of law, not the court of public opinion. How fast would Bean released Josh if the accusations were pointed at him? How many here would be singing a different tune if it was? It should not be any different for the punter than from the qb. Everyone should be considered innocent until proven guilty. There has to be be a better way to deal with these situations.

[John from Riverside]

10 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

It was his residence.   He's screwed!

 

"...A lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court accused Araiza and two teammates of raping a then-17-year-old girl at a Halloween party at an off-campus home where Araiza had been living. A San Diego police investigation has been turned over to the district attorney’s office to determine whether to pursue charges. DA spokeswoman Tanya Sierra said Friday there was no timeline as to how long a decision will take. ..."

This is actually a big deal because there was some fogginess of whether or not it was a house that Ariza lived in or not if that literally was his house and a girl got raped there he’s in trouble

 

At the end of the day now McDermott and Bean can go back to ax her in questions about football and any reporter that keeps on going on with this they should just skip over

[AuntieEm]

21 minutes ago, Malazan said:

 

No team will touch him until the criminal and civil cases are resolved.

 

If the DA declines to prosecute and he settles the civil case (or it gets dropped) quickly then he could see a team look his way later this year. 

 

   The Bills could sign him to the PS if he was cleared of any possible criminal charges.  And with no criminal charges against Araiza but possibly some conviction of one or more of the other players may prevent a civil verdict for the accuser and they may find there wasn't enough proof  Araiz as had any liability in her gaming rape which may indeed have occurred but was perpetrated by other people that were at the residence.  For all we know the other named players may have exonerated Araiza as well as the sex she performed with Araiza took place outside by all reports I read and perhaps there was a lot of video footage obtained from neighbors with some partial views of where Araiza and the victim hooked up.  Maybe there's video evidence th a Araqiza never entered the house but is seen leaving entirely.

 

21 minutes ago, Malazan said:

All other options would take too much time for a team to look at him this year. If the criminal or civil case is resolved by him losing in court then yea, never. 

 

Plus If your trying to establish yourself as a top athlete in the NFL you don't need all the stress of this legal issue impacting on your performance.  

[ExiledInIllinois]

Just now, John from Riverside said:

This is actually a big deal because there was some fogginess of whether or not it was a house that Ariza lived in or not if that literally was his house and a girl got raped there he’s in trouble

 

Yupper! His residence.   He just had sex and doesn't take care of her, in his residence.   That's bad.  He's got liability here. He doesn't know a pair of guys are committing rape in his residence! Wow!

[Punch]

1 hour ago, BigAl2526 said:

OK - with Araiza gone, Buffalo has some time before they settle on a new punter.  They can wait for other teams' cuts or sign one of the free agents that are available.  In another thread, somebody suggested Bruce Kern, currently with the Titans, might get cut.  Buffalo Rumblings has a short list of free agents.    

 

https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2022/8/27/23324591/list-of-free-agent-punters-for-buffalo-bills-to-sign-michael-palardy-matt-araiza 

On to Palardy.

[Wayne Arnold]

2 minutes ago, McDeerInTheHeadlights said:

Have they been asked or addressed if they explored any other options such as putting Araiza on some kind of exemption list or suspend and replace him till things got clearer rather than releasing him outright?

 

If I'm not mistaken, few, well very few apparently, teams were aware to a minor extent that there was a "situation" involving Araiza at draft time. Have they been asked why they think they failed to gather similar intelligence at the time and how they expect to make sure it won't happen again?

 

In other words, was this press conference a pure PR operation or there was some kind of self-reflection or root case analysis, if you wish to call it that, involved?

 

They called "double-digit teams" and asked them if they were aware of the accusations and none of them were. 

 

They were genuine with their answers and stressed that they always just wanted to do the right thing and not rush to judgement or make emotional decisions.

 

In hindsight I'm not sure what they could've done differently. They're football guys - not investigators or journalists.

[chongli]

5 minutes ago, Meatloaf63 said:

The easy  path was to just release him. The hard path would have been to stand up to the cancel culture and wait for this to be settled in a court of law, not the court of public opinion. How fast would Bean released Josh if the accusations were pointed at him? How many here would be singing a different tune if it was? It should not be any different for the punter than from the qb. Everyone should be considered innocent until proven guilty. There has to be be a better way to deal with these situations.

 

Thi Bills were powerless to do anything, other than keeping him on the roster and being a major distraction. The solution is up to the NFL. I predict the NFL will bargain with the NFLPA for the power to discipline players for actions done prior to their NFL careers, and for actions occuring in pre-season practices too (see Aaron Donald).

Edited August 28, 2022 by chongli

[Motorin']

14 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

It was his residence.   He's screwed!

 

"...A lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court accused Araiza and two teammates of raping a then-17-year-old girl at a Halloween party at an off-campus home where Araiza had been living. A San Diego police investigation has been turned over to the district attorney’s office to determine whether to pursue charges. DA spokeswoman Tanya Sierra said Friday there was no timeline as to how long a decision will take. ..."

 

It's in dispute whether it was his residence or not.

 

His lawyer says it wasn't. But I'm not sure how much I trust "you better believe it" Kerry Armstrong. 

[Wayne Arnold]

5 minutes ago, Meatloaf63 said:

It should not be any different for the punter than from the qb. Everyone should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

 

Let's not be naive here.

[Forlorn hope]

17 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

A jump?

 

Your avatar is a picture of rapist Cornelius Bennett.

 

Interesting reaction to finding out you are clueless.........don't shoot the messenger, Cornelius.

I will never forget Bennett returning that blocked kick vs Denver in 90. Incredible athlete and player. 

[Draconator]

3 minutes ago, Wayne Arnold said:

 

They called "double-digit teams" and asked them if they were aware of the accusations and none of them were. 

 

They were genuine with their answers and stressed that they always just wanted to do the right thing and not rush to judgement or make emotional decisions.

 

In hindsight I'm not sure what they could've done differently. They're football guys - not investigators or journalists.

A lot of people are forgetting that very fact. 

[muppy]

2 hours ago, MAJBobby said:

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. 

Are you serious or is this sarcasm I can't tell. Im not okay with your comment here. How about not doing anything to cause you to be sued regardless of player position.  smh

[chongli]

2 hours ago, djp14150 said:

This concept of innocent until proven guilty.

 

if you want toget rid of a coworker because you two appear to be the leaders fir a promotion…have someone make a claim against him then he gets removed and you win.  It does not matter if it’s actually true.

 

The problem if the co-worker makes up a crime, he or she faces liability for prosecution for lying to police. In the Araiza case, the woman will not be charged, unless her story is found to be a complete fabrication, which is unlikely.

Edited August 28, 2022 by chongli

[Meatloaf63]

4 minutes ago, chongli said:

 

Thi Bills were powerless to do anything, other than keeping him on the roster and being a major distraction. The solution is up to the NFL. I predict the NFL will bargain with the NFLPA for the power to discipline players for actions done prior to their NFL careers, and for actions occuring in pre-season practices too (see Aaron Donald).

Good post, I see where your coming from and think you are correct.

[John from Riverside]

7 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Yupper! His residence.   He just had sex and doesn't take care of her, in his residence.   That's bad.  He's got liability here. He doesn't know a pair of guys are committing rape in his residence! Wow!

I mean I can’t speak for everybody else but what happens in my house is my responsibility and I’ve had parties in my house and I’ve had to kick people out because I didn’t trust the way they were acting

[Meatloaf63]

4 minutes ago, Wayne Arnold said:

 

Let's not be naive here.

That attitude is part of the problem…

[Forlorn hope]

The buffalo bills are not the fbi or police department. All they can do as a corporate body is evaluate their legal vulnerability in these situations and the integrity in which people make those decisions given the situation. Arazia being innocent or guilty is a moot point from the bills point of view in a legal context.

 

I pray for this girl and imho I do believe something very dark has happened but the bills organization must move on. I hope the victim finds justice

 

 

[Doc Brown]

1 minute ago, Meatloaf63 said:

That attitude is part of the problem…

A reality nonetheless though.  

[Beck Water]

21 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

I think that's a bit much he didn't play in the game that day and was cut the following day, not sure I'd call that standing by him.

 

Heh.  Fair point.  They did stand by him initially with that "thorough investigation" team announcement, but they reversed course PDQ

 

I think either the investigation was total weak sauce OR McDermott wasn't fully in the loop with the details, and was genuinely horrified reading the lawsuit.  I think he said "I don't think we can have this on the team.  At the least, we have to separate him from the team while we review what we know and make a decision"

[Motorin']

2 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Heh.  Fair point.  They did stand by him initially with that "thorough investigation" team announcement, but they reversed course PDQ

 

I think either the investigation was total weak sauce OR McDermott wasn't fully in the loop with the details, and was genuinely horrified reading the lawsuit.  I think he said "I don't think we can have this on the team.  At the least, we have to separate him from the team while we review what we know and make a decision"

 

Beane said they were wrong to say that had conducted a thorough examination. That they should have said it was an ongoing examination.

 

 

 

[AuntieEm]

3 hours ago, mannc said:

It sucks for Araiza, and it's totally unfair, but it's probably the right thing for the Bills.

 

And really let's say he was allowed to play as the investigation goes forward.  He has to try to play his best while dealing with that type of stress in his personal life.  It is entirely possible the Bills have told Araiza he will be welcomed back via PS onext the legal issues are resolved.   Until they get resolved there's no sense in signing him to the PS because that would just give the lawyers a media audience and that just makes everything worse.

[Beck Water]

10 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

Beane said they were wrong to say that had conducted a thorough examination. That they should have said it was an ongoing examination.

 

I have questions as to whether the Bills conducted any sort of examination including using Google for 5 minutes, or if they did, whether they actually shared a fair picture of the results, but I made that point elsewhere so, 'nuff said.

[Boatdrinks]

25 minutes ago, chongli said:

 

The problem if the co-worker makes up a crime, he or she faces liability for prosecution for lying to police. In the Araiza case, the woman will not be charged, unless her story is found to be a complete fabrication, which is unlikely.

We already know that Araiza admitted they had sex. That part is not a fabrication. The details and particulars are a case of he said -she said and we will probably never really know. 

[Augie]

19 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

I mean I can’t speak for everybody else but what happens in my house is my responsibility and I’ve had parties in my house and I’ve had to kick people out because I didn’t trust the way they were acting

 

When I was in college I lived in a three story house (former triplex) with 11 other guys. It was literally like Animal House. The guy on the 3rd floor in the front of the house threw a pony keg thru some glass he stole from the framing shop where he worked (he wasn’t stupid enough to break his own window) into the front yard. He failed to account for the cars parked in the front yard, specifically the one that ended up with a broken windshield. 

 

In houses that were more tame I’d maybe take a little responsibility, but I can’t control everything. It was college. 

 

Now? It’s our house and we are in charge. But I’m not a kid anymore. By any means or measure……..

[YoloinOhio]

Quick recap 

 

 

[BigAl2526]

I'm sure one thing that weighed on the Bills is the fact that Araiza knew he had this skeleton in the closet and did not inform the Bills in the pre-draft process.  I'm sure the Bills asked him at some point in one form or another, Is there anything in your off field past that could become an embarrassment to you and the Bills should we draft you?"  Whether he is innocent or guilty, he was aware that accusations had been made before he was drafted, and he chose to remain silent.