According to a report from The Athletic, Buffalo Bills punter Matt Ariza and two of his former teammates at San Diego State University have been accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old high school student in 2021.
Araiza, along with his former teammates Zavier Leonard and Pa’a Ewaliko have been accused of rape, false imprisonment, and gender-violence crimes that took place during a Halloween party at Araiza’s home.
Buffalo Bills ‘Punt God’ Matt Ariza, 2 other accused in rape lawsuit
From The Athletic:
According to the suit filed by attorney Dan Gilleon, the plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe, was “inebriated” when she arrived and given more alcohol by Araiza, who was 21 at the time, before he ordered her to perform oral sex on him in a side yard. The lawsuit alleges that Araiza had sex with her outside before taking her inside to a bedroom where Leonard and Ewaliko were waiting. They all took turns sexually assaulting her for about 90 minutes as she went in and out of consciousness, the lawsuit alleges.
“This was a horrific crime, the kind of which happens all too often,” Gilleon said in a statement. “What makes these crimes different is not only that they were committed by self-entitled athletes. Just as awful as the crimes, for months, multiple organizations — SDSU, the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego District Attorney, and now the Buffalo Bills — have acted the part of enablers looking the other way in denial that my client deserves justice even if the defendants are prized athletes.”
The Athletic noted that sources of theirs have indicated that the Buffalo Bills were not aware of the rape allegations against Matt Ariza before they selected him in the 2022 NFL Draft.
