Gee, maybe we should not tear down someone accused of a crime until a jury of their peers finds them guilty.

Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs signed punter Matt Araziza after spending 16 months to clear his name after rape allegations.

Good for him. I hope all men like Arazia get a second chance.

The Buffalo Bills cut Araiza in 2022 after drafting him in the sixth round because a female accused him and four other males of rape at a 2021 party at San Diego State University.

Guess what.

No evidence supported the allegation. SDSU’s investigation cleared Arazia.

The alleged victim chose to file a civil lawsuit against Arazia.

Arazia did not stop defending himself. He did not settle or make any concessions. Instead, he filed a defamation lawsuit.

The woman dropped Arazia from her claim in December. Arazia dropped the woman from the defamation suit.

All of the evidence pointed to Arazia not even being at the place where the alleged gang rape took place:

Araiza admitted to having sex with her, having met her outside during the night in question, but not knowing that she was 17. However, it was revealed that Araiza was no longer at the party when the alleged gang rape occurred.

There were also videos of the incident inside the bedroom where prosecutors didn’t see enough to say it was a gang rape instead of consensual sex. Prosecutors also said the accuser had been lying about her age to other men at the party, saying she was 18.

Witnesses also said the girl had been leaving and returning to her friends, saying that she had had sex with someone. After the Araiza encounter, despite the civil lawsuit saying that he had led her to a bedroom, prosecutors found that she had left her friend group again and returned, saying that she had had sex with a different man. Deputy District Attorney Trisha Amador also made sure to point out again that the girl hadn’t been under the influence.

There was another witness who claimed that the girl had been “approaching men at the party saying, ‘I want you to [expletive] me, and if you don’t [expletive] me you’re a [expletive].”



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