Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza, two San Diego State football players accused of gang raping minor in lawsuit

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills rookie punter Matt Araiza has been accused along with two others of gang raping a 17-year-old girl last year in a civil lawsuit filed Thursday.

The lawsuit, obtained by ESPN, involves allegations against three current and former San Diego State Aztecs football players, including Araiza, who starred for the team last season. The other men named in the complaint are Zavier Leonard, a redshirt freshman at San Diego State, and Nowlin Ewaliko, who was a freshman last season but is no longer on the listed roster.

The lawsuit accuses Araiza, 22, of having sex with the then-high school senior outside at an off-campus party held at his residence during the early hours of Oct. 17, 2021. The suit states Araiza then brought her inside a room where at least three other men were, including Leonard and Ewaliko. She was repeatedly raped for about an hour and a half until the party was shut down.

The suit's filing was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

The lawsuit states that the minor, named as Jane Doe, went in and out of consciousness but remembers moments as the men took turns assaulting her. The suit states that her nose, belly button and ear piercings had been pulled out during the acts, and she was bleeding from her vagina.

Doe claims that Araiza was aware of her being in high school. She alleges that he handed her a drink, but she did not see him pour it. There is belief and information from Doe that it might have contained other «intoxicating substances» besides alcohol.

Araiza's lawyer, Kerry Armstrong, called the accusation false and told the Los Angeles Times his investigator spoke to witnesses from the party who contradict what is stated in the lawsuit.

«It's a shakedown because he's now