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Matt Araiza, one of the NFL's preseason darlings, was recently cut from the Buffalo Bills after serious gang rape allegations against him. The incident occurred while he was still at San Diego State but is coming to light now.
Stephen A. Smith is not known to ever hold back on anyone. He will speak his mind and slander an athlete at a moment's notice for whatever reason, but occasionally something happens that deserves Smith's ire.
On First Take, the former Bills punter came up as a topic of discussion.
Smith didn't hold back:
"He's in trouble. Listen, what the district attorney is saying, we're looking into this because we did not know. And now that now that we know this, we're looking into this. He's in a world of trouble because obviously that didn't happen by accident. Didn't happen by accident."
Smith believes the allegations are incredibly serious:
"Something happened to that young lady. And it's clear. And the fact that it was a gang rape. Yeah. Now, I mean, we talk. We're talking imprisonment."
He went on to say that there should be no lesser punishment if Araiza is found guilty:
"We're not talking settlement. We're not talking a civil case. A civil case may come with it, but we're talking potential imprisonment. And Matt Araiza, if you're innocent, you're innocent. I don't know. None of us know. We weren't there. But you and whoever you were with and that young lady, we don't know. But if there's truth to this, you're going to jail. Going to jail."
There is currently no timetable for the case, and it could take a while for Araiza to face punishment if he's found guilty. He's unlikely to join an NFL team until well after that.
Who's going to punt for the Buffalo Bills now?
There's no doubt that Araiza had talent. It's not often that punters or kickers get drafted, but Araiza landed with the Bills in the sixth round.
He went on to have a pretty solid preseason, earning the nickname the "Punt God" and blasting an incredible 82-yard kick.
Unfortunately for the Bills, they cut former punter Matt Haack before giving the job to Araiza. Teams don't usually hold on to multiple punters. As it stands, they haven't yet signed one but will need to do so before September 8, when they open the season against defending champions, the Los Angeles Rams.
