Matt Araiza has been dropped from the civil lawsuit filed by a woman who accused him and four other former SDSU football teammates of sexually assaulting her at a Halloween party in 2021, the punter's attorneys said Tuesday. The footballer will also drop his lawsuit against the accuser.
The woman, who was 17 at the time, accused Araiza of bringing her into a room at a home near SDSU where she was raped by several ex-Aztec football players, filed a civil lawsuit against Araiza and two others in Aug. 2022. Two additional men were added to the complaint in 2023.
Araiza, the most high-profile of the defendants named, retaliated with his own defamation lawsuit against the sexual assault accuser in July 2023. In it, he claimed the girl solicited him for sex outside the party and the encounter was consensual.
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In a statement released by Araiza's attorneys on Tuesday, the football star said the sides have reached an agreement, "requiring the plaintiff to dismiss her complaint against him in the next week. Matt is not paying the plaintiff any money and he is reserving his right to pursue the plaintiff’s attorney, Dan Gillion."
The dismissal will be filed no later than Dec. 18, according to Araiza's attorneys. As part of the agreement, Araiza will drop his countersuit. He has one year to bring any lawsuit against Gillion, if he chooses.
NBC 7 reached out to Gillion for comment and to confirm his client's lawsuit will be dropped against Araiza and has not yet heard back.
It was also not clear if the accused would continue with their claims against the four other men named: Zavier Leonard, Jaiden Brown, Jonathan Harrison and Nowlin "Pa'a" Ewaliko, 20, who was earlier this month sentenced to 180 days in jail for possession of child porn.
Araiza, whose play earned him the nickname "Punt God" and a draft selection by the Buffalo Bills, has long maintained his innocence and has called for the complaint to be dismissed, arguing through his lawyers that he believed she was 18 years old at the time and that the sex.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Araiza said he regretted acting in a way where something bad could happen and wished he just stayed home that night.
"I am [angry] but there comes a point where you have to move on," he said. "This will be tied to me forever," adding later, "It has changed me a lot."
The San Diego Police Department closed its criminal investigation of the alleged incident in early August 2022 without detailing what, if anything, was discovered.
The San Diego District Attorney's Office was then tasked with investigating the police findings and in December 2022 announced that it would not be filing criminal charges against any of the former players, stating, "Prosecutors determined it is clear the evidence does not support the filing of criminal charges and there is no path to a potential criminal conviction."
The DA's office said their investigation included analysis of all the evidence in the case, including "over 35 taped witness interviews, the results of a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) exam, DNA results, and evidence derived from 10 search warrants." The search warrants produced four terabytes of data which included forensic evidence from cell phones and video evidence of the incident itself.
Araiza was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2022 but released by the team after the allegations came to light. He was seen working out with the New York Jets earlier this year but remains teamless.
His attorneys said in a statement Tuesday, "He now has the full intention of returning to the NFL in hopes of resuming a successful punting career."
