Matt Araiza’s opportunity to reclaim his NFL career should not be hindered by the accusations that led to his dismissal.

In 1987, eight construction executives were accused with allegedly cheating the New York City Transit Authority of $7.4 million. The case was weak. Jurors did not only acquit the guys; several stood and celebrated when the decision was announced. Afterward, Raymond Donovan, a former United States Labor Secretary and thus the most prominent of the defendants, expressed his satisfaction but had a question.

“Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?” inquired the man. On August 25, 2022, then-Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza was listed in a civil lawsuit alleging that he engaged in the heinous gang rape of a 17-year-old female while at a 2021 party near San Diego State University. Araiza punted for the Aztecs during that time. Days later, enraged by the lawsuit, the Bills fired him.

Araiza instantly denied any wrongdoing, stating merely that he, 21, had consensual intercourse with an 18-year-old lady at an off-campus party earlier that evening. “The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press,” Araiza at first stated. “I look forward to quickly setting the record straight.”

It took 16 months — hardly “quickly” — but Araiza is no longer under criminal or civil inquiry for what happened that night. The final piece fell into place Tuesday, when the accuser dropped the civil complaint against Araiza. Ariaza admitted no wrongdoing and made no monetary payment to the accuser. His only concession was to withdraw his own defamation suit against the woman, while he reserved the right to prosecute her attorney.

Previously, San Diego County police investigated the event but did not recommend filing any charges against anyone. The San Diego County prosecutor’s office then undertook a separate, independent inquiry, reaching the same conclusion. Meanwhile, San Diego State University launched its own “independent conduct” investigation and reported “no findings against Matt Araiza.”

There is no avenue for exoneration here. The initial claims against Araiza made national headlines and were covered extensively on television, blogs, and social media. The steady drip of the aforementioned conclusions and proceedings drew less and less attention. That left Araiza standing in his attorney’s office on Wednesday, sounding like Raymond Donovan once did. Where does he go to get his reputation, much alone his NFL career, restored?

“The day you file a lawsuit, you don’t have to prove anything,” Araiza stated. “Sometimes you don’t need to prove anything for years. So I disagree with society’s belief that the moment someone files a lawsuit, everything is real and we must take action based on the allegations.

“And I believe that professional sports clubs, as well as college teams, should have the courage to say, ‘Look, we take these allegations seriously, but unless something is proven, we can’t cut our guy. “We can’t kick someone out who has worked their entire life to be here,” he said. “I think that’s what I would like to see moving forward.” Professionally, Araiza wants to return to the NFL. He was a unanimous All-American and NCAA record-setting punter at SDSU, earning the nickname “Punt God” from fans. In Buffalo, he almost instantly won the position — and a four-year, $3.8 million contract — thanks in part to an 82-yard field goal in preseason. However, punters are expendable. He understands he has to be better than ever.

“[I’m] confident that I’ll be able to regain my NFL career,” Araiza said. “… I believe it’s more of a when, not an if. And again, just trying to focus on football when I get there.”

Last offseason, the New York Jets brought Araiza in for a workout but did not sign him. Other than that, things have been quiet. Last offseason, some NFL personnel told Yahoo Sports that even though prosecutors officially indicated that no criminal charges would be filed, the presence of the civil complaint made them nervous. So that’s no longer there. Others were hoping for a jury decision of not guilty to protect them from any fan and media backlash.

A not-guilty conviction would have been sensational, but not being charged at all is preferable to a jury acquittal. A criminal trial indicates that police and prosecutors believed they could prove you committed a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. No one did with Araiza though. Furthermore, Araiza can cite a recorded meeting in which San Diego prosecutors informed the woman that, while the civil suit accused Araiza of leading her into a bedroom where four men waited before throwing her face down on the bed, evidence led them to the conclusion that Araiza left the premises before the woman entered the bedroom.

“He wasn’t even at the party anymore,” deputy district attorney Trisha Amador explained to the woman. Later, when going through a timeline of the night, Amador stated, “All I know is that at that point, suspect Araiza is gone from the party.”

Amador even cast doubt on whether a gang rape occurred at all, stating that due to video recording from the bedroom, “I absolutely cannot prove any forceable sexual assault based upon what happened.” A civil suit against four other men remains active.

Amador also told the woman that a witness stated that she was “telling people at the party you were 18,” and “another witness at the party, a different one, says that they specifically heard you say you were 18.” Further, the prosecutor told the woman that there were witnesses to the before and after of the earlier encounter with Araiza.

“The witnesses say … that shortly after you arrived at the party, you left and came back shortly thereafter,” Amador continued. “And you said to [a friend], ‘I just had sex.’… You didn’t seem unhappy. You appeared to be having fun, and the rendezvous on the side of the house with Matt, suspect Araiza, was voluntary.”

Perhaps Matt Araiza will never be able to regain his full reputation. At the very least, the accusations that cost him his NFL career should not prevent him from regaining it.