Just before the start of his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills, star San Diego State punter Matt Araiza was accused of rape, which derailed his professional football career as he was quickly waived from the team before he even appeared in a regular season game. And after it was recently determined that Araiza was not present at the time of the incident, he is now suing his accuser’s lawyer for defamation.
Tuesday night’s episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO took a closer look at the Matt Araiza situation and the accused punter sat down for an interview with correspondent Andrea Kremer. In addition to denying all accusations and explaining that the alleged victim initiated sexual contact with him, Araiza also revealed plans to sue her attorney, Dan Gilleon, for defamation.
“I’ve already hired an attorney for it, and things have already been drafted,” Araiza told Kremer according to Pro Football Talk. “I will never waive my right to sue him. That’s coming.”
Gilleon was also interviewed as part of the episode, and he made it clear that he still intends to move forward with the civil suit against Araiza, claiming that even if he was not present for the incident, that “doesn’t absolve him of liability.”
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