In October 2021, Matt Araiza was a young man when he became involved in a case that would terminate his legal career.
On May 16, 2000, he was born in San Diego, California. Araiza is a punter for American football who is not currently on a team.
Araiza competed in track and field as a hurdler while attending Rancho Bernardo High School, where he also played football and soccer.
His outstanding performance, which included 37 field goals, led to him being selected for two All-America teams as a placekicker.
Araiza chose San Diego State University (SDSU) for collegiate football despite receiving offers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Montana.
The Buffalo Bills selected 21-year-old Matt Araiza in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draught. But owing to accusations of gang rape made against him, the team released him before the season.
Former NFL punter Matt Araiza has taken action to establish his innocence and find work by giving NFL teams a piece of information that reveals disturbing details about the night he was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in San Diego.
That piece of evidence was an audio recording of a conference that a San Diego County prosecutor had with the 17-year-old girl and her counsel on December 7.
The 101-minute recording was not made available to the general audience.
Evidence was presented that supported the prosecutor’s thorough justification for why her office decided not to file charges against Araiza and others who were allegedly involved in a horrific gang rape at a house party close to San Diego State in October 2021.
After Araiza was released by the Buffalo Bills due to the issue, his agent, Joe Linta, shared the video with about 20 NFL teams in an effort to help Araiza have a fresh start in his professional career.
The disturbing charges that surfaced against Arazia and two other NFL players from San Diego State last year in a still-pending civil complaint brought by the 17-year-old girl suggest a different narrative of what transpired, at the very least.
The tape, at the very least, offers a different account from the troubling claims made against Araiza and two other former San Diego State football players in a current civil action that was submitted by the plaintiff’s lawyer last year.
Nine brief video clips of the woman’s nighttime sex experiences are mentioned in the recording, but none of them involve Araiza. Araiza sees the recording as important despite denying any wrongdoing.
Araiza rejected a $50,000 settlement offer put out by the woman’s counsel, according to his attorney.
Kerry and Ricky Araiza, Matt Araiza’s parents, however, rushed to the scene to stand up for their son.
He has been tried and convicted in the media based on information only supplied from the claimed victim and her attorney, much of it through social media, according to a statement they made in August 2022. People have mistakenly believed his information to be factual.
Allegations of s*xual assault centre the case. In August of last year, when Matt Araiza was 20 years old and a rookie punter for the Buffalo Bills, he and two other football players from San Diego State were named in a civil case.
They were charged with taking part in a gang rape involving a drunken 17-year-old female. Before sending the case to the district attorney without recommending prosecution, the San Diego Police had been looking into it for about 10 months.
The Bills made the decision to keep Araiza on the team despite being aware of the incident and conducting their own investigation. However, the civil lawsuit’s explicit charges attracted a lot of media attention.
Proceedings detailed a situation that occurred at a house party close to the campus of SDSU, claiming that Araiza brought the girl into a bedroom where several other men were waiting.
It described a terrible gang rape that lasted for an hour and a half and caused the girl to flee the room in pain after suffering numerous wounds.
The Bills released Araiza soon after the charges became public, citing the need for everyone to move past the circumstance.
Despite a 124-day inquiry, prosecutors declared on December 7, 2022, that they would not file charges in the case.
The initial statement gave few information. However, a transcript of a conversation between a deputy district attorney, the girl, and her lawyers provided additional insight on the outcomes of the inquiry.
Araiza had left the party an hour before the assault was allegedly committed, therefore it was determined that he couldn’t have led the girl into the claimed group rape.
It was difficult to tell whether the interactions were consensual or a gang r*pe because there were camera recordings from the bedroom.
Araiza expects that NFL teams would take him into consideration despite the ongoing legal litigation because new evidence has come to light proving his innocence.
He denied knowing the girl’s age or degree of intoxication and said he had consented to any sexual intercourse. (said in the active voice)
Short films that depict interactions between the girl and other guys after Araiza departed the party are part of the evidence. The prosecutor’s choice not to press charges was significantly influenced by these films and witness testimony.
Unlike criminal charges, the civil lawsuit is still pending and has a lower standard of proof.
Araiza used his redshirt year at SDSU to gain experience. John Baron II, an All-Mountain West Conference kicker, used him as a backup.
As the team’s placekicker as a redshirt freshman, Araiza set an excellent school record by making 22 of 26 field goals on try.
As a result of his efforts, he was given an All-Mountain West honourable mention.
Araiza continued to shine in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, making 10 of 14 field goal tries and earning his second straight honourable mention All-Mountain West nomination.
He also took up the team’s punting duties versus UNLV, averaging 49.8 yards on five punts, showcasing his flexibility.
In addition to his kicking responsibilities heading into his redshirt junior season, he was designated the first-string punter in 2021. Additionally, ESPN named him an All-American at the position midway through the season.
At the end of the season, Matt Araiza, then 17 years old, had a punting average of 51.19 yards, breaking the previous NCAA record set by Texas A&M’s Braden Mann in 2018. He threw a 50.98-yard punt, earning the moniker “Punt God” from NFL fans.
But the former NFL great admitted that he does not “necessarily love the nickname” because he understood that it is a tremendous compliment.
He received the Ray Guy Award for being the best punter in the country. He became only the second Aztec player to receive the honour of being named a unanimitie All-American.
After the season ended, he announced that he would forego his final season of eligibility in order to enter the 2022 NFL Draught.
Given that Matt Araiza is only 22 years old, he still has a long way to go in his career. But he has already earned a net worth of $2 to $3 million.
His four-year contract with the Buffalo Bills, which includes a $216,148 signing bonus and a yearly salary of $969,037, was the main factor in increasing his net worth.