NFL prospect Araiza is dropped from rape suit
By The Associated Press
Matt Araiza, an All-american punter at San Diego State who was drafted by the NFL’S Buffalo Bills, is being dropped from a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged she was raped by SDSU football players in 2021, it was announced Tuesday.
The woman agreed to dismiss Araiza from the lawsuit she filed last year, while Araiza agreed to dismiss his defamation countersuit against her, his attorneys said in a statement.
He’ll be removed from the suit in the next week, won’t pay any money to the woman and reserves the right to sue her attorney for harm caused, the statement said, terming the agreement “bittersweet.”
Araiza was nicknamed the “Punt God” and honored as a consensus Allamerican in 2021 for his booming kicks that helped SDSU to a schoolbest 12-2 season in his senior year. He was selected by the Bills in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft but released two days after the filing of the lawsuit.
“Matt has been forced to defend himself for the last sixteen months against false accusations and a campaign to ruin his career in the NFL. He will never get this time in his life back,” attorneys Dick Semerdjian and Kristen Bush said.
“Thankfully, there was extensive evidence that was key to securing Matt’s voluntary dismissal from this lawsuit,” the statement added. “Matt was and has always been innocent. The case is over, and Matt has prevailed.”
Araiza intends to return to the NFL, his lawyers said.
The defamation lawsuit against the woman, described in court documents only as Jane Doe, was “legally baseless,” but her first legal bill topped $20,000 and she “simply cannot afford to defend herself,” her attorney, Dan Gilleon, said in a statement reported by the San Diego Union-tribune.
“Plus she has been beat down by Araiza’s PR campaign and is frankly over it,” he said in a text, the news outlet reported.
The lawsuit against four other former San Diego State University players will continue.
Turkish league matches scheduled to resume Tuesday
Turkish soccer league matches, suspended after a referee was attacked by the president of a topflight club, will resume on Dec. 19, the head of the Turkish Football Federation said Wednesday.
Mehmet Buyukeksi also told reporters that the federation’s disciplinary board would announce today the punitive measures to be imposed on MKE Ankaragucu and its president, Faruk Koca, who has since been arrested. Leading FIFA official and former top referee Pierluigi Collina has described the attack as an example of the “cancer” that threatens to kill soccer.
Koca punched referee Halil Umut Meler in the face on the field after the final whistle of a 1-1 draw in a Super Lig home game against Caykur Rizespor on Monday. The referee, who fell to the ground, was also kicked in a melee as fans invaded the playing surface after Rizespor scored a lastminute equalizer.
Blues fire Berube, who led them to Stanley Cup title
The St. Louis Blues fired coach Craig Berube on Tuesday night, hours after a 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
The loss was the season-worst fourth straight for the Blues, who are off to a 13-14-1 start to the season.
Berube guided the Blues to their only Stanley Cup championship in 2019.
The 57-year-old Berube, in his sixth season with the Blues, had a record of 206-131-44.
The Blues named Drew Bannister, coach of the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League, as interim coach.
■ Winnipeg Jets leading scorer Kyle Connor, who suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s win over the Ducks, missed games Tuesday and Wednesday and is being reevaluated by team doctors in Winnipeg. Connor ranks fourth in the NHL with 17 goals in 26 games this season. He recorded a career-high 47 goals and 93 points in 2021-22.
South Korean slugger Jung Hoo Lee signs with Giants
South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $113 million, six-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the agreement had not been announced. Lee, a South Korean MVP and the son of a former MVP, can terminate the deal after four years and $72 million to become a free agent again.
Lee, a versatile slugger, will immediately fill a huge need likely in center field for the Giants, who have missed the playoffs the past two seasons after winning a franchise-record 107 games and the NL West in 2021.
■ Shohei Ohtani, who agreed on a $700 million 10-year contract, will officially be introduced by the Dodgers at a news conference today at Dodger Stadium.
■ Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Endy Rodríguez will miss the entire 2024 season after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. The team announced Rodríguez, 23 and considered a major part of the team’s future, had surgery Tuesday after he was injured taking a swing while playing in the Dominican Republic. The estimated recovery time is 1012 months.