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Matt Araiza was going to be the King of the Buffalo Bills. The man everyone proclaimed as the “Punt God” wowed fans with his incredible leg strength, and he was on track to be a fan favorite not only within the Bills mafia but also with the general NFL fanbase. However, a recent report seemingly destroyed any goodwill he may have had with fans.
The short version of the story is that Matt Araiza allegedly participated in a gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in college with two of his friends. Already, fans are wondering whether the Bills knew about these allegations before he was “promoted” to the starting job. A recent report reveals some… bizarre timing surrounding the promotion (via Tim Graham).
Source tells me the Bills were made aware of the accusations against Araiza last month. They did not know when they drafted him, but did know when they cut Matt Haack on Monday.
— Tim Graham (@ByTimGraham) August 26, 2022
Let's be clear here, though: it's entirely possible that the Bills and the rest of the NFL knew about Matt Araiza's rape allegations. Despite the clear talent displayed by Araiza in college, he fell all the way to the sixth round. Other, less well-known punters were drafted before him. That could indicate that most teams already knew about this case and were not willing to touch the situation with a ten-foot pole.
Regardless of the timing of when the Bills knew about the allegations, it's still not a good look for the team. This report basically tells everyone that they knew about this case… and still favored an alleged rapist over their current fanbase. That is definitely going to turn off some fans from watching the game.
As of the moment, Araiza is scheduled to play in the final preseason game of the Bills. Considering the fan reaction to Watson's first preseason game, expect some fireworks to come out of their final game.
