EX-AZTEC PUNTER ARAIZA FILED CLAIM VS. SDSU
He alleges school damaged reputation in statements made
Former star Aztec football punter Matt Araiza has filed a claim against San Diego State University, alleging that someone tied to the school made statements that damaged his reputation.
The university has returned the claim, citing reasons including insufficient evidence.
Araiza is one of three former Aztec players accused of sexually assaulting a then 17-year-old girl at an October 2021 house party near the campus.
All three accused men deny the allegations and say any contact with the teen was consensual.
Araiza was
21 years old at the time.
The District Attorney’s Office announced in December it would not file criminal charges, and told the woman, who had since turned 18, that they could not prove anyone knew she was underage or could have been too intoxicated to give consent.
According to an audio recording of that conversation obtained by the Union-Tribune and other media, the prosecutor told the woman that after viewing short video clips of the woman engaged in sex acts on the night in question, the District Attorney’s Office “absolutely” could not prove that any forcible sexual assault occurred.
Araiza, who’d been seen leaving the party, was not in any of the videos.
Through his agent, Araiza issued a statement this week that he is “aware that the facts of this case have been made public.”
“I am deeply gratified for the thorough work of the DA’s office in San Diego and for all the witnesses that were willing to come forward and tell the truth,” he said. “I am thankful that the facts of this case as provided by the witnesses will prove that what I have been saying from the beginning is, in fact, the truth.
“I can only hope that now people will assess me
on the facts and not what was falsely claimed in both the civil suit and in the press.”
Araiza’s attorneys have been pushing to have the civil case against their client dropped. Last year, he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills, but was cut months later after the civil suit was filed. His lawyers say he hopes to return to the NFL.
His agent, Joe Linta, said Friday that he has sent copies of the audio recording to NFL teams that may be in need of a punter. He said he thinks the evidence is “incredibly compelling.”
“Everything that Matt said that happened is exactly what happened,” Linta said.
The woman is suing the three former players in civil court.
Araiza filed his claim against San Diego State in February. In it, he alleged that the university “by or through its agents and/or employees negligently, recklessly and/or intentionally made false statements of purported fact to third
parties that resulted in damage to the reputation of Mr. Araiza.”
The claim does not identify who made the statements, nor does it reveal what was said in the statements.
The university returned the claim in March, finding it contained insufficient evidence and was filed too late, school spokesperson La Monica Everett-Hayes said.
Such claims can be a precursor to a lawsuit. Araiza’s attorney said Friday that the claim was filed to preserve his right to file a lawsuit should he choose to later.
The audio recording of the roughly 100-minute meeting in December, when a prosecutor explained to the woman the reasons behind the decision not to charge anyone, contained several revelations. Among them, a witness told investigators Araiza had left the party nearly a half hour before sexually graphic recordings of the woman were made, and he does not appear in any of the short videos.
Araiza told USA TODAY Sports this week that “the teams know the true facts.”
“They’ve heard the audio,” he told the publication. “They know this isn’t true. It’s that we need the public to understand as well.” Because I think teams have a fear that if they sign me, there will be a little bit of backlash because the public has been told things that aren’t true.”
The woman’s attorney, Dan Gilleon, has said the meeting with his client was intentionally focused on the reasons prosecutors couldn’t make a case, and didn’t focus on factors in his client’s favor. He said one of Araiza’s friends was the witness who said Araiza left the party.
Araiza’s legal team is trying to obtain cellphone tracking data they say will show he had left.
News of the woman’s allegations were revealed in June by the Los Angeles Times. San Diego State weathered criticism for not taking actions when the allegations surfaced. The school denied those allegations and said it agreed to step back to allow San Diego police to investigate.