Bills release rookie punter Matt Araiza after rape allegations originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Buffalo Bills released Matt Araiza on Saturday.
Araiza, a rookie punter, is currently facing a civil lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court after he and two others were accused of gang raping a 17-year-old last October.
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"This is bigger than football," Bills general manager Brandon Beane said on Saturday.
Beane said that the Bills found out about the lawsuit in late July, but had no knowledge before drafting Araiza in the sixth round of April's draft.
"We did not know about this and the league did not know about this... We've reached out to double digit teams, and no one knew about this."
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Araiza was named the Bills' starting punter last week when they released Matt Haack, who was with the team last year. Araiza did not suit up in Buffalo's preseason finale on Friday night, a decision that head coach Sean McDermott made.
"It's just a matter of trying to find the truth at the end of the day, that's the goal is find the truth and do the right thing," McDermott said after the game. "And that's what I keep coming back to in my mind and my heart, is find out the truth to the best of my ability, and do the right thing."
