More Q’s Than A’s…

In US politics today, it is common for someone to say they are on the right side of history while an opponent is on the wrong side of history.  There is an adage that relates to that circumstance:

“Some folks are wise, and some are otherwise.”

I fear that I could be “otherwise” today, but I have decided to take the chance.  Prudence would advise not to take a middle ground position regarding the allegation that former Bills’ punter, Matt Araiza raped an underage girl and then subjected her to a gang rape.  My problem is that I do not have sufficient information to take either side of this story in complete comfort.

So, before I get too far out on a limb here, let me make a couple of unequivocal statements:

• If Matt Araiza did what he is alleged to have done to a 17-year-old girl, he should be charged, convicted and then sentenced to a LONG term in the dankest prison in the country that does not cross the line into cruel and unusual punishment.
• If his accuser has fabricated all or significant parts of this allegation, she should be tried and punished in a civil proceeding and publicly shamed for what she has done.
• And given the reports I have heard and read on this matter, there are too many “loose ends” for me to take a position on where the parties stand.

As I understand it, the allegation is that a 17-year-old girl went to a Halloween party where she alleges she was given an alcoholic drink – possibly with other stuff in it – and was then raped outdoors by Matt Araiza who subsequently took her to a room in a house and threw her on a bed where several other males gang-raped the girl.  As I said above, if that is what happened, Matt Araiza deserves harsh treatment at the hands of the law.  Moreover, if that is what happened, I have no interest in being on Matt Araiza’s side in this dispute; so, my predisposition is to side with the young woman here.  But…

The alleged event happened at a Halloween party which I am comfortable thinking happened at the end of October 2021.  The young woman through her attorney says she reported this attack to the San Diego police and that she received a rape examination at a medical  facility in San Diego proximal to the alleged rape.  A NY Times report said that detectives from the San Diego Police Sex Crimes unit “set up a tape-recorded phone call between the victim and Araiza during which he confirmed having had sex with her and told her she should get tested for sexually transmitted diseases before changing his tone when she asked more pointed questions.”

It is the timing here that confuses me.  The rape examination would have taken place in early November 2021 and the police would have had access to the results of that examination surely before Thanksgiving of last year.  At some time between then and now, there was the recorded set up phone call – – and yet, there are no criminal charges filed against Araiza.  And that makes little to no sense to me because if all this reporting is completely accurate, the San Diego  authorities have Araiza’s admission that he had sex with a minor and that took place about 10 months ago.  And that lengthy delay makes me wonder what is causing the delay.

Moreover, it was on July 31, 2022 – – approximately 9 months after the alleged gang-rape – – that the victim’s attorney advised the Bills that his client was filing a civil action against Araiza.  Not surprisingly, Araiza’s attorney asserts that this is nothing but a “cash-grab” by the woman now that Araiza is an NFL player; that is no surprise at all; that is a reflex comment by an accused athlete/celebrity these days.  However, the timeline of events would allow me to construct a hypothetical argument that such could be the case here.

That gets me back to my original position; I need to know more about what sort of evidence exists here before I commit to either side of this accusation.  I am NOT in a position to blame the victim and label her a gold-digger.   But I am not ready to convict Matt Araiza – even in the court of public opinion – until I know more about why the San Diego law enforcement folks have seemingly slow-played this matter.

• Is this a matter of inertia or ineptitude on the part of the authorities – – or – –
• Is there a hole – or holes – in the allegation itself?
• Or both…?

Before anyone accuses me taking this allegation too lightly, let me assure you that I am not taking it lightly at all.  I do recall, however, that two very similar allegations proved to be concocted false accusations:

1. Recall the Rolling Stone magazine report of a gang rape on the UVa campus.  The article was published in 2014 and the event supposedly took place in 2012 – – except that it did not.  Here is a link to Wikipedia about that incident.
2. Recall the “Duke lacrosse case” from 2006 where a dancer alleged she was gang-raped by members of the Duke lacrosse team after she performed at a party they threw.  The problem is that gang-rape did not happen.  Here is a link to Wikipedia about that incident.

While I am loathe to take a position on this matter until more information emerges, I do think it is interesting to see how the NFL – – and the Buffalo Bills more specifically – – have dealt with this matter.  The NFL has no written “jurisdiction” here; the alleged incident happened about 6 months before Araiza was drafted by the Bills in the 2022 Draft.  The NFL’s rules and policies as outlined in the CBA only apply to people associated with the NFL and not to the general public.  So, the NFL has wisely kept quiet about this matter to date knowing that as soon as anyone comes out and takes a position on the matter there will be questions about how this compares to the Deshaun Watson saga that the league is only too happy to have put in the rearview mirror.

• Is one “gang-rape accusation” worse than/equal to or better than two dozen accusations of sexual assault on massage therapists?

Anyone who would touch that question with a 10-foot pole needs a 20-foot pole.  But the resolution of the Deshaun Watson saga is far too fresh in many people’s minds that it will become a point of contention if the door is opened.

The Bills claim that they did their own due diligence regarding Araiza prior to the Draft and were convinced that he had no outrageous character flaws.  They may have been right in that conclusion – – or they could have been hideously wrong.  So, the Bills chose to deal with the situation by removing Araiza from their roster thereby brushing aside the distractions that would have to come from keeping him on the team.  And that decision and action by the Bills reinforces the perception that in the sports world:

• Greater talent => Greater value to a team => Greater tolerance for “impropriety”

Deshaun Watson’s play as of the end of the 2020 season indicated that he might be a franchise QB in the NFL for the next 10 years or possibly more.  Matt Araiza is a punter.  Franchise QBs are hard to find; teams go through punters like grass goes through geese.  When Watson’s suspension was announced, the owners of the Browns spoke glowingly of “second chances” and “atonement”; I have difficulty believing that sort of spectacle would happen in the case of a punter.

I have often said that the concept of due process only applies to the US jurisprudence system and has no place in the court of public opinion.  I continue to maintain that stance even though I do want the legal due process to further inform me about what my public opinion position ought to be.

Finally, given the state of uncertainty and the smarmy nature of the allegations involved here, let me close with these words from the great philosopher, Yogi Berra:

“If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………