Buffalo Bills' punter Matt Araiza had made the rounds online for months now. His accuracy, strength, and trick shots went viral long before he made it to the National Football League, which is why they took him in the sixth round of the Draft.
Now, the guy who was once all over the web for his ability to punt the football 80 yards downfield is stealing the headlines for all the wrong reasons. He's facing accusations of gang-raping a then-17-year-old alongside two San Diego State University teammates at an off-campus party.
Technically, the NFL doesn't have the power to punish him, as the incident happened before he entered the league; thus he didn't need to abide by their conduct policy. But will the Bills just ignore the situation, or will they cut ties with him right away?
NFL News: Buffalo Bills Could Cut Matt Araiza In The Wake Of Accusations
(via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk)
"The Personal Conduct Policy does not encompass alleged misconduct occurring before a player is drafted. At most, the incident would be used against him for enhanced or expired discipline, if he violates the policy once he’s in the NFL.
That doesn’t stop the Bill (sic) from cutting him, if they choose to do it. Although Araiza and/or the NFL Player Association could make a stink about a decision to dump Araiza for reasons that would obviously be unrelated to skill, the Bills ultimately can do whatever they want to do — and they may decide that it’s better to find another punter."
The league and the Bills were reportedly made aware of the accusations before the news broke. Now, it seems like it'll all be up to the front office, but keeping him on the active roster before the investigation concludes sure doesn't look good.
