Two months after rape charges against him were dropped, former San Diego State star punter Matt Araiza is back playing professional football — this time just south of the border.
Araiza has signed with the Tijuana Galgos, a professional football expansion team in the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA). The team blasted social media Thursday, announcing that Araiza will play in the 2023 season, which starts March 4. However, the star punter’s agent, JL Sports, said the announcement may be premature but would not go into details.
Local Mexican news media reported he was seen practicing with the team on Tuesday.
Dubbed the “punt god” by fans for his long and accurate punts, Araiza won the Ray Guy Award as the top collegiate punter in the nation in 2021 and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft.
He was cut from the team when he was named in a civil lawsuit accusing him and two others of gang-raping a teenage girl at a house party off campus in October 2021. After a lengthy investigation, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, in December 2022, declined to press charges against the men accused, saying there was “no path to a potential criminal conviction.”
But the civil case against Araiza is still pending. In court documents filed last month, Araiza maintains his innocence and claims the interaction between him and the young woman was consensual.
The Galgos play in the 27,000-seat Caliente Stadium and will open their second season in the LFA on March 5 against Mexicas in Mexico City.
