Matt Araiza vows to sue accuser's lawyer for defamation over rape claims

Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Matt Araiza, a free-agent punter who was cleared of criminal wrongdoing when he was accused of rape last year, revealed he plans on suing the lawyer of the accuser for defamation.

Araiza appeared on "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" on HBO. He said he would not settle the pending civil lawsuit that he is up against and would sue attorney Dan Gilleon for defamation.

"I’ve already hired an attorney for it, and things have already been drafted," he told "Real Sports" correspondent Andrea Kremer. "I will never waive my right to sue him. That’s coming."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

San Diego State Aztecs kicker Matt Araiza attempts a kickoff during the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl game between the UTSA Roadrunners and the San Diego State Aztecs on Dec. 21, 2021 at the Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. (Steve Nurenberg/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Araiza’s mother, Kerry, also spoke about the potential defamation suit.

"This attorney and plaintiff have taken absolutely everything from Matt. His job, his reputation, his name, his livelihood," she said, via Awful Announcing. "This child of ours is sitting home, unemployed. Unemployable. Cannot get back into the NFL. He has no idea what his future will be. So it’s cost him everything."

Gilleon vowed to move forward with the civil lawsuit against Araiza. He also appeared to revise why they were suing him after authorities in California concluded that Araiza was gone from the party where the alleged gang rape took place.

"We are not saying that he was, and we are not saying that he wasn’t," Gilleon said. "Let’s say he was not one of the men in there. That