Matt Araiza’s 16-month nightmare looks to be finally coming to an end.<\/p>\n
The former San Diego State University and Buffalo Bills punter was recently dropped from a civil lawsuit alleging he raped a then-17-year-old intoxicated girl at an off-campus party in 2021, and with that he said he plans to return to the NFL to reignite his punting career.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was cut, I was an NFL starter, had just beat out an NFL veteran. I was on a 4-year contract and that wont be handed back to me. No one in the NFL is going to go, \u2018Here\u2019s the job that you once had,\u2019 so working to regain where I was at is my primary goal right now,\u201d Araiza said<\/a> at a Dec. 13 conference, as reported by Fox 5 San Diego.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m confident that I will be able to regain my NFL career \u2014 whenever that is. I believe it\u2019s more of an when, not an if.\u201d<\/p>\n Araiza was a highly successful punter at SDSU, considered<\/a> one of the best college punters in the nation, but he lost his position with the Bills amid a media firestorm over the allegations. Later, Araiza and two of his Aztec football teammates were cleared of criminal charges for the alleged gang rape, The College Fix<\/em>\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0in December 2022.<\/p>\n Araiza always maintained his innocence, and in May of this year it came to light<\/a> he was not even at the party at the time the teen was allegedly raped by two of his teammates. The San Diego District Attorney\u2019s office also told the accuser<\/a> there is no proof to back up her claims despite videos from the party, 35 taped witness interviews, DNA test results, and evidence derived from 10 search warrants.<\/p>\n Over the summer, Araiza filed a defamation lawsuit against the accuser, known as Jane Doe, that alleged she knowingly made false statements to police about being raped by Araiza, Fox 5 San Diego reported<\/a>. As part of the agreement to remove Araiza from the rape lawsuit, he agreed to drop his defamation suit, the news outlet reported.<\/p>\n A statement released by Araiza’s attorneys, Dick Semerdjian and Kristen Bush, that was published Dec. 12 by CBS 8 states<\/a> he is “reserving his right to pursue the plaintiff\u2019s attorney, Dan Gilleon, and his law office for the harm that they have caused him.”<\/p>\n “While we are here celebrating this victory with Matt and his family, the win is bittersweet. Matt has been forced to defend himself for the last sixteen months against false accusations and a campaign to ruin his career in the NFL. He will never get this time in his life back,” the attorneys said.<\/p>\n “We cannot overstate the importance to our system of justice of the presumption of innocence. Matt has always maintained his innocence, despite the public outcry that resulted when he was falsely accused of crimes and civil assault. Thankfully, there was extensive evidence that was key to securing Matt\u2019s voluntary dismissal from this lawsuit. Matt was and has always been innocent. The case is over, and Matt has prevailed. He now has the full intention of returning to the NFL in hopes of resuming a successful punting career.”<\/p>\n At his press conference, Araiza said he is very frustrated by the guilty-until-proven-innocent mentality that permeates the country.<\/p>\n \u201cThis idea that society has that the second someone files a lawsuit it\u2019s completely true and we must take action based on what\u2019s alleged \u2014 I disagree with it,\u201d Araiza reportedly<\/a> said. \u201cProfessional sports teams, as well as college teams, should have the backbone to say, \u2018Look we take these allegations seriously, but until allegations are proven, we can’t cut our guy. We can’t push somebody out who\u2019s worked their whole life to be here.’\u201d<\/p>\n The civil lawsuit against Araiza’s two former teammates remains ongoing.<\/p>\n