Matt Araiza, known as the "punt god," was drafted to the Buffalo Bills in April of 2022. He was released from the team in August due to a civil lawsuit when he was accused of gang rape. Prosecutors decided NOT to press criminal charges for the same alleged crime last December and we now know why. They find it hard to prosecute someone for rape at a party he was no longer at.

When Araiza was released, Bills general manager Brand Beane admitted that they didn't know all the facts. "But at this time, we think it will be the best move for everyone to move on for Matt."

Buffalo Bills release rookie punter Matt Araizawww.youtube.com

Unclear is if it was the "best time" because the Bills were being blasted in the media for drafting Matt even though the team knew about the unproven allegations. Allegations, according to a new report from Yahoo Sports, the San Diego district attorney's office declined to prosecute.

Azaiza was accused of, in 2021, leading a drunk girl into a room with three other guys and then proceeding to take part in a gang rape. After an investigation that last over four months, it was concluded that Azaiza wasn't there when the alleged rape occurred. He had left the party an hour before.

“He wasn’t even at the party anymore,” deputy district attorney Trisha Amador explained to the girl. Later Amador stated of the timeline of events, “All I know is that at that point, suspect Araiza is gone from the party.”

Additionally, prosecutors told the girl that video recordings of the incident in the bedroom made it impossible to determine, let alone prosecute anyone, on whether there was a gang rape at all that night, rather than consensual sex with the other men.

This comes from a 200-plus page transcript of a 100-minute meeting between the prosecutors and the accusers, where the ADA also said “In looking at the videos on the sex tape, I absolutely cannot prove any forceable sexual assault based upon what happened."

The dual investigations by police and prosecutors included over 35 witness interviews (including some of the girl’s friends who came to the party with her that night), the results of a Sexual Assault Team exam conducted the following day and 10 search warrants that produced 4 terabytes of information, including numerous short videos of some of the alleged encounters.

The accuser's lawyers claim their client is being "bullied" and the civil lawsuit will continue.

As of this writing, it is unclear where Azaira can go to get either the last year of his life or his reputation back. It is also unclear what, when people in the media called this a "credible allegation" last year, they believe made the allegation so credible.

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Brodigan is Grand Poobah of this here website and when he isn't writing words about things enjoys day drinking, pro-wrestling, and country music. You can find him on the Twitter too.

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