Many around western New York and the NFL world were shaken when punter Matt Araiza was accused in a gang-rape lawsuit.
Now former teammates of Araiza were no different.
On Monday, Bills players spoke to reporters in the locker room for the first time since everything unfolded. Buffalo visited the Carolina Panthers before Araiza was officially released, but in wake of the entire situation, only backup quarterback Matt Barkley spoke via press conference.
Barkley, who punted during the contest, didn’t–and really couldn’t–open up much. He said the Bills were focused on the task at hand… or at least the best they could.
With the dust settled, some candid answers were provided by offensive linemen Mitch Morse and Dion Dawkins.
Morse said he thinks the front office made the “right decision.” He added he knows it still was not an easy one.
“That’s why I’m the player. And they’re the guys that have to make those decisions,” Morse said via the Buffalo News. “So a lot of kudos for them making the decision that they thought was right.”
Dawkins already tried to put it behind him. What’s done is done, he said.
But Dawkins knows it’s not a situation anyone could take lightly.
“It’s hard, you know, because I have three kids,” Dawkins said. “I have two girls and a son. Anytime where anything happens like as a guy, like, you get just that thought like ‘Damn, I’ve got kids. I’ve got sisters, I’ve got moms, I’ve got daughters.’ You never know.”
“The thoughts always come, but you’ve just got to try to keep your mind right and not think about stuff that you really can’t control,” Dawkins added.
For more from Morse on the matter, see the WIVB-TV clip below:
Always appreciate Mitch Morse and his professionalism and honesty especially when discussing something as difficult as what has happened with the allegations against Matt Araiza. I asked Morse what the locker room has been like and how the team moves forward. pic.twitter.com/V0jCcDP2Lq
— Heather Prusak (@haprusak) August 29, 2022
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