NFL Insider lays down 'big issue' concerning Matt Araiza's NFL return in wake of lawsuit exoneration - "It's extremely crude"
Even though Matt Araiza is not facing any criminal charges, he still has one more hurdle to overcome before returning to the NFL.
Araiza was named a defendant in a civil case involving the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl near his alma mater, San Diego State, in August 2022. Ultimately, no criminal charges were filed. But according to Yahoo! Sports reporter Dan Wetzel, the civil case could still impact his value to NFL teams:
"Do they need the civil suit to go away? So civil suits are almost always settled. ...But it's not unusual for someone to play in the NFL with a civil suit. Anybody can get sued civilly for anything. So that obviously is the very sensitive nature of the story. So it's hanging out there."
However, unlike NFL players who have been allowed to play despite a civil suit, Araiza's problem is his position as a punter:
"The big issue is he's a punter, right? And I know it's extremely crude, but it's also reality. [If] he's a quarterback, it's one thing. Punters and specialists can't be distractions, right? You know you're going to take the PR hit or the concerns over that."
Wetzel also expressed optimism about Araiza's chances of returning to the NFL:
"He's a punter. He's a good punter. He seemed to be a very promising punter, but he's still a punter. So what happens with the NFL? I don't know. But that doesn't loom over this because he would like to return to the NFL and play."
Details exonerating Matt Araiza from the 2021 gang-rape revealed
Wetzel obtained new information from Deputy District Attorney Trisha Amador on Monday about how Araiza could not have been involved in the 2021 gang rape. Notably, the report stated that the former Buffalo Bills punter had left the party where the crime occurred at 12:30 a.m., roughly an hour before the alleged incident.
Furthermore, evidence of coercion can be seen in the videos at the crime scene. Amador also claims that the alleged victim consented to the sexual act:
“The witnesses say … that shortly after you arrived at the party, you left and came back shortly thereafter. And you told [a friend], ‘I just had sex.’ ... You didn’t appear unhappy. You appeared to be having fun and that the encounter on the side of the house with Matt, suspect Araiza, was consensual."
Amador had doubts about the alleged victim's intoxication level:
"You’re not intoxicated at this point that anybody would know your intoxication level...They would not be able to tell that you weren't able to give consent."