Football player Matt Araiza dropped from woman’s rape lawsuit and won’t sue for defamation

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Attorneys say former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza is being dropped from a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged she was raped by San Diego State University football players in 2021. Attorneys for both sides say the woman agreed to dismiss Araiza from the suit she filed last year while Araiza agreed to dismiss his defamation countersuit. The woman alleged that Araiza had sex with her at an off-campus party when she was 17 and then took her to a bedroom where other players raped her. Araiza said he had left the party before the alleged raping occurred. San Diego County prosecutors declined to file criminal charges. A San Diego State investigation found no wrongdoing by Araiza.