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Then-San Diego State punter Matt Araiza was at the top of the college football world a year. The “Punt God” as he was known, captivated college football fans with his ability to boom punts up to 80 yards. Araiza won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best punter and then proceeded the enter the NFL Draft with a year of eligibility remaining.
The Buffalo Bills selected Araiza with the 180th pick in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Araiza immediately impressed in Buffalo and won the starting job. But the Bills then shockingly cut Araiza before he could ever play in an NFL regular-season game.
As it turns out, Araiza was the subject of a rape investigation by San Diego police over an incident that allegedly occurred while he was at SDSU. Buffalo reportedly knew about the incident prior to the news getting out.
Prosecutors reached a decision regarding the case on Wednesday, and football fans were shocked.
NFL Fans Furious After Prosecutors Refuse To Charge Former Bills Punter Matt Araiza
ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg reported on Wednesday that prosecutors opted not to charge Araiza or any SDSU players who were allegedly involved.
“Ultimately, prosecutors determined it is clear the evidence does not support the filing of criminal charges and there is no path to a potential criminal conviction,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement. “Prosecutors can only file charges when they ethically believe they can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
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An initial crime report obtained by ESPN said the girl sustained “severe black and blue bruising to her neck and throat region,” in addition to a half-inch laceration to her upper forehead. She had bruising on her right leg and noted “vaginal pain and bleeding from the incident.” – via ESPN
Fans were furious with the decision.
https://twitter.com/ant_banx/status/1600872864970080256?s=20&t=YTQz1oWAj2Bt-9AeEalOiA
He fucking admitted to it on the phone with the police, how did this not get charged https://t.co/f8o1eEjKrM
— Padoochy (@Padoochy) December 8, 2022
"I am never surprised when a prosecutor does not file sexual assault charges when the victim was intoxicated," the plaintiff's attorney, Dan Gilleon, said in a statement. https://t.co/niBcWqWUwx
— Meg (@mleighc) December 8, 2022
https://twitter.com/newmankn/status/1600695324594831361?s=20&t=YTQz1oWAj2Bt-9AeEalOiA
This is absurd and just wrong. That man should be in jail for years. https://t.co/0rDMUso51F
— ebmarsh22 (@EBMarsh2) December 8, 2022
Araiza’s NFL future still remains murky. While he’s eligible to return, there’s no guarantee a team would be interested. Though as we’ve seen in the past, a good football player usually trumps any bad PR.