Editor’s Note: This article contains an account suspected of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline. 1-800-656-4673 or https://www.rainn.org
Bills rookie punter Matt Aliza was formally accused of participating in the gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl at an off-campus party last year, according to a lawsuit filed during preseason with the Panthers on Friday night. Didn’t play in the finale Thursday at San Diego County Superior Court.
Buffalo was reportedly unaware of the alleged incident at the time of drafting Aliza, but the team knew they had cut Matt Hark, leaving Rookie as the only punter on the roster.
Following the allegations, Aliza released her first public statement on the matter.
“The facts of the case are not what the lawsuit or the press portrays. We look forward to setting the record straight soon.” According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Araiza said:
A lawsuit will be filed in about two months. los angeles times reported that five members of the San Diego State football team were reported to campus officials for an alleged rape at an off-campus house party.
Alaiza raped a minor outside the residence where the party was held before being taken to a room where the girl recalls being raped by multiple men, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday. , along with former teammates Xavier Leonard, a redshirt freshman at San Diego State University, and Nowrin “Par” Ewariko, who left the program after last season, were named in the lawsuit.
According to the complaint, after the assault, the girl “staggered out of the room, covered in blood and crying. Her nose, navel and ear piercings had been pulled out and her vagina was also bleeding.”
Alyza recently won the starting punter job at training camp with Buffalo, beating Hurk, who was cut earlier this week. When contacted, Bill declined to comment, citing an “ongoing civil lawsuit,” but said it had conducted a “thorough investigation into the matter.”
Because the incident occurred while Aliza was still in college, he is not subject to discipline under the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy.