“Irreversible damage has been done” - Matt Araiza talks life after rape allegations, Jets workout and HBO regret (EXCLUSIVE)

In August 2022, the Buffalo Bills decided to cut Matt Araiza, a rookie at the time, two days after alarming allegations were brought forward.

Along with two of his college teammates, he was accused of rape stemming from an incident at a party near San Diego State's campus.

Araiza maintained his innocence all along.

Two separate investigations, one by the San Diego District Attorney’s office and the other by San Diego State University, cleared the former Bills star of any criminal wrongdoing and no charges have ever been filed against him.

The start of training camp goes well for you in Buffalo, you’re named the team’s starting punter by the middle of August, then accusations of rape against you are made public and a lawsuit is filed. When and how did you first hear about the accusations and the lawsuit?

I thought it was the police who first reached out to me, but it was the DA’s (San Diego) office. I believe the police had turned over the investigation over to the DA’s office in late July recommending no charges be pressed against any individual, but the DA’s office wanted to do a second investigation.

They reached out to me and that’s when I first realized this was real. It was the day before we headed up to training camp (July 2022).

The Bills said they were initially aware of the allegations in July before the team named you the starting punter. Did law enforcement officials contact the Bills or did you apprise them of the situation?

I did. I was the middleman between my attorneys and informing the Bills what was going on. It was between me, the general manager of the Bills and their head of security. I don’t know any coaches or players that knew about it. It was pretty much me informing the Bills about what was happening.

It was frustrating watching people place blame on the Bills and say, “They knew about this!” They knew my story and they knew what is now proven to be the truth. People were blaming the Bills for believing what was in the lawsuit was fact and deciding to keep me, but that was not the case at all.

It frustrated me the Bills took a big hit when everything first happened.

The Bills released you soon after the lawsuit and accusations were made public. What was that conversation like?

They told me some things are bigger than football and this is one of them. The Bills said we needed to separate so I could go back home and handle this.

Did anyone from the Bills tell you or imply they would welcome you back if you were cleared of any wrongdoing?

During the conversation when I was cut, I asked them, “Do you think this is something I can come back from? Do you think I will get another opportunity if I can prove this is not true?”

They told me yes, because of my talent and my age, but my question was more about the NFL in general and not targeted towards the Bills.

HBO recently did a documentary on the situation. How would you characterize the HBO story? Do you think it was fair?

I thought it was pretty fair. It was an interesting production to be a part of. My sit-down with Andrea (Kremer) was three hours long and that turned into 40 seconds of airtime. I get it- it's HBO, they want to gather as many clips as they can.

I do think it was fair.

Was there anything HBO left on the cutting room floor, part of an interview with you or the Araiza team, which never made it into the story, you wish had?

I liked all of it. I wish all of my interview would’ve been played but I don’t think people are going to sit down and watch all three hours of that. I think they did a good job and covered the main things I wanted to say.

I wish there were more questions for her (accuser’s) attorney. At one point Andrea said to him, “This seems to be a far cry from what you originally claimed.” His response was, “I don’t know.” I wish there was a little more pressing there because that’s just incredible. They are completely switching up their story and his response was, “I don’t know”? I would’ve liked to hear more about that.

In America, you are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Far too often, especially these days, we see situations where an accused person is considered guilty until they prove themselves innocent. Even worse, when the evidence at hand shows the person was innocent, people still lean on the original accusation to render their final opinion or make a choice.

I bring this up because it's relevant to my question.

Do you fear there are teams in the NFL who will dismiss the two investigations, the first by the San Diego District Attorney’s Office and the second one by the university itself, that cleared you of any criminal wrongdoing and rely solely on the accusation as a reason not to sign you or invite you to camp?

I think the aftermath will never be as loud as the accusation and that is part of the problem. There might be NFL personnel who heard the original story and don’t know about the recent facts brought to light. I don’t know if it’s a situation of them holding it against versus educating themselves on what has been found.

My agent Joe (Linta) has been great in reaching out to teams, sending them the transcript from the district attorney, sending them evidence we have, and descriptions of videos that were taken in the bedroom. So I believe a shot is coming. It’s just about when.

Have you been told there are in fact teams in the NFL that won’t consider working you out solely based on the allegations that were levied one year ago?

I was told that a couple of months ago. I have not heard anything like that since new information came out and there was another big media storm that went the other way. I’m not sure, to be honest with you.

The biggest issue at this point in the year is that every team has a punter and there’s not a big need right now (for punters). That’s the biggest issue. If the truth came out before the draft, I believe I would be on a team, no questions asked.

You worked out for the New York Jets a few weeks ago - how did that go?

I think it went well. I liked their facility and coaching staff. They were very fair to me. I had a conversation with their head of security and went over everything. I think it went well. I’m hoping they decide to bring me in, and I’d love to be a part of that organization to see what I can do to help the team.

Did you have a lengthy interview process with the Jets before or after your workout?

No, my agent gave them all the information before I got their facility. More work had to be done before (the workout) for them they bring me into the building. They did want to hear certain things from me but that was it.

Have any other teams in the league reached out to you or your agent, Joe Linta, and hinted they want to bring you in for a workout?

Joe told me there are three teams he believes it's possible I end up with in training camp.

If you do not get a chance with an NFL team this season are the XFL or USFL options for you?

They are. I have two XFL teams that have reached out to my agent and said they would sign me. I’d prefer to go straight to the NFL, obviously. But if that’s what I have to do, that’s what I have to do.

A civil lawsuit against you is still pending. There were reports from the accuser’s attorney you turned down a payment of $50,000 to settle the issue because, in your mind, that would be admitting guilt. Could you expand on that?

In my mind when I would hear about this growing up, hearing about these lawsuits disappearing, when money is paid off, it comes across as you are running from something; you are running from a trial.

I would rather see a society that treats people as innocent until proven guilty. I would rather see a culture that doesn’t call for someone to be fired but allows them their day in court - and that’s what I’ve been asking for all this time - my day in court.

And if I did settle that would waive any claim I had against her (accuser) and her attorney. Irreversible damage has been done and that damage will be paid by her attorney. I will absolutely not pay 50 grand, now that the truth has come out, to just avoid a trial date and in doing so waive my right to sue them. That’s a big piece of it.

I’m not going to waive my right to sue them; I have every intention of getting back more money than I lost missing a year of football in that lawsuit.

And you intend to fight this to the very end?

Absolutely. I truly believe it will be dropped and not get to court. Her (the accuser's) life is not on pause the way mine is. They have no motive to drop it early, but I believe they have no intention of letting this go to court.

Have court dates been set for the lawsuit?

This Friday (July 14), we have our hearing to present our facts and evidence to the court. We will ask to have the videos taken in the bedroom be used as part of the trial and I’m fairly confident we will win that because it’s evidence.

Once we win that, their side will have to sit back and think if they want to go through with this knowing they will very likely lose and have these videos played in court. I can’t imagine anyone would counsel her to go through with this trial.

What is your relationship with the San Diego State football program like these days?

Multiple coaches have reached out to me. I train on the SDSU field once in a while, and as I see coaches walking by, I say hello to them and they want to know what is going on with me and what’s new. The relationship is good.

I believe they put my Ray Guy trophy back in the offices.

What’s in your immediate future?

My kicking coach is hosting about 16 NFL specialists, and we train Monday through Friday. I get to see 10 punters from different NFL teams, and I can compare myself with them.

Are all these guys playing in the NFL?

Yes, the upcoming camp is NFL-roster only. An exception was made for me because the argument was made that if this (rape allegations and lawsuit) didn’t happen, I would be on an active NFL roster.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Read part one of the Matt Araiza interview here.

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