NFL NFL Clubsaran Billslenggar Matt Araiza Usai Dituduh Perkosa Pemuda Di Parta Halloween

JAKARTA Rookie of American football Matt Araiza was released by his club Microsoft Bills after facing charges of rape in a civil lawsuit.

The lawsuit filed two days ago accuses the 22-year-old player along with two former team-mates in San Diego State of raping minors.

The three were accused of rape, gender violence and false imprisonment. The incident occurred last October at a Halloween party, but Ariza has denied the allegations.

Microsoft Bills General Manager Brandon Beane has confirmed the release they made. It was the best move to let Araiza clean up the problem that ensnared him.

"This is bigger than football. Let's take a step back and [put Ariza] handle this. That's what we think is the most important thing," said Bills Team General Manager Brandon Beane, as reported by the Daily Star, Tuesday.

Araiza was recruited by Bills in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft following a superb performance for the San Diego State University. At that time he was the best player at a university in the country.

Bills said they were not aware of the allegations before signing them. He was brought in to strengthen the team in the 2022 season after Bills released Matt Haack last Monday.

"Our culture on the internet is more important than winning football games. In the end we thought it was the best for everyone. It was a very serious situation with serious accusations and we had no means to unify all the facts," Beane said.

Araiza himself has strongly denied the allegations and released a statement during Friday's pre-season match against the Carolina Panthers. He was not on the sidelines during the match or in the dressing room.

"The fact that the incident happened is not as described in the lawsuit or in the media. I hope to immediately straighten this record out," said Ariza's statement.

Araiza's lawyer, Kerry Armstrong, admitted that his client spoke to the girl at the party, but called the rape allegations untrue.

"I'm sure he's very angry and disappointed that his career with Bills ended not because he played badly, but because of a false charge leveled against him by a young woman and her lawyer," Armstrong said.