According to reports from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Thursday, February 22, the Kansas City Chiefs are preparing to sign free agent punter Matt Araiza two months after a civil complaint alleging sexual assault against him was dismissed.
“Source: #Chiefs are bringing in punter Matt Araiza as a free agent. Araiza, a 2022 sixth-round selection, missed football play last season because of a December dismissal of a rape claim, according to a post made by Fowler on his X account.
Araiza’s agent, JL Sports, verified his deal in a statement that was posted on its X account.
“We are pleased to announce that the @Chiefs have signed our client, @matt_araiza. Coach Reid, Brett Veach, and the @Chiefs organization are to be thanked for providing Matt with this chance. In the past eighteen months, Matt has been to hell and back. It is quite inspiring how gracious and humble he has been in handling himself. Now that this experience is over, Matt can move on. The message said, “He is excited to advance as a member of the #ChiefsKingdom.
The former Ray Guy Award winner will not be compensating the plaintiff financially as part of the agreement, which also requires Araiza to dismiss his defamation complaint against the woman.
“While we are here celebrating this victory with Matt and his family, the win is bittersweet,” the lawyers stated. “For the past sixteen months, Matt has had to stand up for himself against unfounded allegations and an effort to kill his NFL career. This is a moment in his life he will never get back.”
Within ten days of the settlement agreement, the sexual assault complaint and Araiza’s defamation lawsuit, both filed in San Diego Superior Court, will be dismissed.
As ESPN reported at the time, a prosecutor in Araiza’s case stated in May of last year that he was not there during an alleged gang rape of a kid at a San Diego home where he was living. As a result, he was never charged with a crime in connection with the event. Araiza was reportedly not visible in any video footage taken from the scene, according to audio of a conversation between San Diego deputy district attorney Trisha Amador and the accuser who filed a civil lawsuit against Araiza and his former San Diego State Aztecs teammates Zavier Leonard and Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko. Araiza was released by the Bills before ever appearing in an NFL regular season game following news of the allegations.
The audio of the December 7, 2022, meeting, which was also attended by the district attorney investigator Ted Mansour, the accuser’s attorney, and a chosen victim advocate, was reportedly longer than one hour and forty-one minutes, according to information received by ESPN.
The purpose of the conference was to clarify why the former San Diego State players—including Araiza—were not charged with a crime. A witness claimed that Araiza had left the off-campus residence around one hour before to the alleged incident. Reportedly, the gang rape event occurred at 1:30 a.m. local time, although video time stamps from the scene show that Araiza was “alleged to have left the party at 12:30” and was not “even at the party anymore,” according to Amador.
Amador further stated that the witness who testified on Araiza’s absence was unaware of the precise time stamps from the party’s camera footage, nor was anyone else outside of her workplace.
“There’s a witness who doesn’t have a reason to say what time suspect Araiza left the party because nobody knows about the time stamps — that he would’ve left the party prior to [a video being filmed],” Amador said to the woman through ESPN.
Araiza, the 2021 Ray Guy Award winner—which is given to the finest punter in college football—was cut by the Bills in August 2022, a few months after being chosen in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft and having been named the starting lineup a few days earlier. In his final season at San Diego State, the 23-year-old gained widespread recognition for his ability to boot the football 70 to 80 yards. He was dubbed “Punt God” and was chosen as the 2021 MWC Special Teams Player of the Year, first-team All-MWC, and unanimous All-American.
Araiza did, however, mysteriously lag behind two other punters: Georgia’s Jake Camarda (No. 133, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Penn State’s Jordan Stout (No. 130 overall, Baltimore Ravens). Many conjectured that this was because NFL teams were aware of the alleged situation prior to the 2022 NFL Draft.
The Chiefs, who had earlier defeated San Francisco, 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV, are just 11 days away from upsetting the 49ers, 25-22 in overtime during Super Bowl LVIII. In addition, Kansas City is the ninth team in NFL history and the first since the New England Patriots in 2005 to win the Super Bowl twice.
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