Lawsuit accuses rookie NFL punter and 2 former college teammates of rape

By Stella Chan, CNN

Updated 0356 GMT (1156 HKT) August 27, 2022

Matthew Araiza, Zavier Leonard and Nowlin Ewaliko

(CNN)Three current or former San Diego State University football players, including the Buffalo Bills' newly drafted punter Matthew Araiza, are accused of gang-raping a then-17-year-old girl at a Halloween party last year, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the attorney for the plaintiff identified in court documents as Jane Doe.

Araiza, Zavier Leonard and Nowlin «Pa'a» Ewaliko were part of the San Diego State University football team at the time of the alleged incident last October.Araiza said in a statement issued through his attorney that, «The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press. I look forward to quickly setting the record straight.»Earlier, his attorney, Kerry Armstrong, told CNN his client didn't rape the accuser.«He never used any force against her. She was not visibly intoxicated. He did not hand her a drink with anything in it,» Armstrong added.Read MoreAraiza «hopes it does not affect this career with the Buffalo Bills. He really likes the team and hopes he can stay with them,» said Armstrong.Jane Doe says she attended a party in the San Diego area with friends, but was separated from them when she met Araiza, according to the lawsuit. The claim further asserts that Araiza «could observe that Doe was heavily intoxicated» and «handed her a drink anyway.»«Doe informed Araiza that she attended Grossmont High School. Araiza, who was 21 years old, knew or should have known that Doe was a minor,» the complaint says. The woman says Araiza led her to a bedroom where «there were at least three other men already in the bedroom,» including Leonard and