Scuttlebut here in the San Diego legal community states that the (alleged) victim is caught on video claiming that she's over 18 (I don't believe she was) and was (allegedly) DTF. She was also apparently heavily inebriated. None of that justifies gang rape, of course, but she's not the kind of witness that will prove helpful in a criminal case. And that, along with unconvincing DNA evidence, is more than enough for a Prosecutor to refrain from going to trial.
The (alleged) victim's civil lawyer did her no favors by publicly trying to bolster his case via overt media pressure on the DA's Office. A lurid complaint might make salacious reading, but treating pleadings as fact is a mistake our media makes all too often.
I'd heed your own advice and be patient here. The video evidence seems to have convinced prosecutors that they couldn't get a jury conviction. That's not the same thing as Araiza doing nothing wrong -- either legally or morally.
So I'm interested to see what the Bills and other NFL teams do. It would seem likely that whatever is known to have happened will come out if someone signs him. Embedded within a team's calculus to do so is whether or not Araiza is worth the PR backlash from those facts.
Your point on the media taking a more measured approach is a good one. I just think we need to know more here before declaring that Araiza is owed full apologies.
I am noticing a very weird dynamic among media sports libs. It comes out that somebody wasn't, in fact, brutally gang raped. Good news, right? No! To the media sports lib, the primary response is not relief, but palpable disappointment or just utter disbelief. That is how tied they are to their own public recriminations. Personally, I am glad to have leaned that a young woman was not brutally gang raped, but I guess I am the weirdo!
Eisen, in particular, seems prone to these kinds of histrionics. He really needs to tone it down especially in regard to civil lawsuits (where everyone who isn't a complete rube knows full well that the veracity of civil lawsuits absolutely require independent verification).
I’m a SDSU alum and witnessing bad decisions made in sloppy off campus house parties are no stranger to me.
It’s easy to say now that nothing good can come of those parties and that anybody, let alone a future NFL player, is better off locked in their dorm room a la the Bosa brothers, but good luck telling my 20 year old self that.
The best you can hope for are parents that drill it into their kid’s head to not put themselves in bad situations without crossing into Bosa/Marinovich territory. Good luck.
People won't revisit because this guy is a punter and he isn't worth a damn in sports. Deshaun Watson is still playing on his 300mil contract, rape allegations only ruins people who don't matter.
Some of the dynamics at play are due to the current baseline morality shared by highly-educated folk. On sexual issues, this can be summarized as: "consent isn't everything, it's the only thing." On one hand, anything consensual is sex positive and all that, and on the other hand, any time that consent-o-meter shows red it's a ghastly horror. The sexual behavior/actions can be the same, but how we judge it is now completely dictated by "consent". With this moral incoherence underpinning how we signal our judgement, it's like we're hanging out near the asymptote of a tangent function. Someone can wind up on either side when the "lack of consent" seems to emerge after the fact. The "he said, she said" is not about actions, no matter how disturbing, but about consent. The culture setters can act aghast and repulsed but they're largely using the only outcome they're allowed to measure ("she didn't consent!") as pretext to act so disturbed about the process and pile on with grisly details. The exact same thing is happening with the Trevor Bauer situation. Bauer and the lady sliding into his DMs are both perverse. She texts him that she wants all this physical pain during sex, then after sex she texts it was great and she's wants more. They do it again, and then even after that beating she's texting "I'm just glad you are showing that you care" while she's dealing with her injuries. The first time there is any accusation it gets levied after the second episodes, and she states that Bauer violated her consent the first time they had sex. (.....) Cue Chappelle's skit with some minor modifications: "Oh, nuh uh. Wait a minute! Just because I texted you to bring the pain and 'rawr' does NOT mean that I meant that..."
The leagues and the media are going to continue to react the way they do because they, like society writ large, have increasingly incoherent and bipolar moral foundations. We're in the middle of a rapid transition away from many moral foundations to very few. The consent-obsessed playbook for healthy sexual relations crossed with highly sexualized and deviant culture is, to quote Chappelle: "f-ing confusing". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL-1kHxsavI
It was an interesting read right here. Something I knew nothing about until you brought it to my attention, Ethan.
It just reminds me how these sports entities just need to fill content. And the ex-punter of the Bills and sexual assault accusations certainly fills content. And it makes sense they used this is in August (during the dog days of summer). But, by the time NFL and CFB season was in full swing, how frequently was it mentioned on any of these big sports shows?
It's not that these people want to set the record straight, but rather - nobody cares if they do or not, as the Cowboys are playing their in-State rivals Texans today!
If it turns out that the guy did not commit an assault as alleged— his life is likely ruined by this. Opportunity to provide for himself and his family has been incalculably reduced. Would truly be a shame.
extremely well-written. I like the forensic analysis of Deadspin (have thought Carron was a huck for years) and the NYT leaving out the video is damning.
So good journalism does exist. Thanks Ethan, this was a treat.
Scuttlebut here in the San Diego legal community states that the (alleged) victim is caught on video claiming that she's over 18 (I don't believe she was) and was (allegedly) DTF. She was also apparently heavily inebriated. None of that justifies gang rape, of course, but she's not the kind of witness that will prove helpful in a criminal case. And that, along with unconvincing DNA evidence, is more than enough for a Prosecutor to refrain from going to trial.
The (alleged) victim's civil lawyer did her no favors by publicly trying to bolster his case via overt media pressure on the DA's Office. A lurid complaint might make salacious reading, but treating pleadings as fact is a mistake our media makes all too often.
This is a tragedy for all involved.
I'd heed your own advice and be patient here. The video evidence seems to have convinced prosecutors that they couldn't get a jury conviction. That's not the same thing as Araiza doing nothing wrong -- either legally or morally.
So I'm interested to see what the Bills and other NFL teams do. It would seem likely that whatever is known to have happened will come out if someone signs him. Embedded within a team's calculus to do so is whether or not Araiza is worth the PR backlash from those facts.
Your point on the media taking a more measured approach is a good one. I just think we need to know more here before declaring that Araiza is owed full apologies.
"racist rapist raiser"
Got this months $10 worth right there.
I am noticing a very weird dynamic among media sports libs. It comes out that somebody wasn't, in fact, brutally gang raped. Good news, right? No! To the media sports lib, the primary response is not relief, but palpable disappointment or just utter disbelief. That is how tied they are to their own public recriminations. Personally, I am glad to have leaned that a young woman was not brutally gang raped, but I guess I am the weirdo!
I enjoyed the article. Thank you.
Eisen, in particular, seems prone to these kinds of histrionics. He really needs to tone it down especially in regard to civil lawsuits (where everyone who isn't a complete rube knows full well that the veracity of civil lawsuits absolutely require independent verification).
Apologies are so 20th century, get with the times. Shoot first, ask questions never.
I’m a SDSU alum and witnessing bad decisions made in sloppy off campus house parties are no stranger to me.
It’s easy to say now that nothing good can come of those parties and that anybody, let alone a future NFL player, is better off locked in their dorm room a la the Bosa brothers, but good luck telling my 20 year old self that.
The best you can hope for are parents that drill it into their kid’s head to not put themselves in bad situations without crossing into Bosa/Marinovich territory. Good luck.
People won't revisit because this guy is a punter and he isn't worth a damn in sports. Deshaun Watson is still playing on his 300mil contract, rape allegations only ruins people who don't matter.
Some of the dynamics at play are due to the current baseline morality shared by highly-educated folk. On sexual issues, this can be summarized as: "consent isn't everything, it's the only thing." On one hand, anything consensual is sex positive and all that, and on the other hand, any time that consent-o-meter shows red it's a ghastly horror. The sexual behavior/actions can be the same, but how we judge it is now completely dictated by "consent". With this moral incoherence underpinning how we signal our judgement, it's like we're hanging out near the asymptote of a tangent function. Someone can wind up on either side when the "lack of consent" seems to emerge after the fact. The "he said, she said" is not about actions, no matter how disturbing, but about consent. The culture setters can act aghast and repulsed but they're largely using the only outcome they're allowed to measure ("she didn't consent!") as pretext to act so disturbed about the process and pile on with grisly details. The exact same thing is happening with the Trevor Bauer situation. Bauer and the lady sliding into his DMs are both perverse. She texts him that she wants all this physical pain during sex, then after sex she texts it was great and she's wants more. They do it again, and then even after that beating she's texting "I'm just glad you are showing that you care" while she's dealing with her injuries. The first time there is any accusation it gets levied after the second episodes, and she states that Bauer violated her consent the first time they had sex. (.....) Cue Chappelle's skit with some minor modifications: "Oh, nuh uh. Wait a minute! Just because I texted you to bring the pain and 'rawr' does NOT mean that I meant that..."
The leagues and the media are going to continue to react the way they do because they, like society writ large, have increasingly incoherent and bipolar moral foundations. We're in the middle of a rapid transition away from many moral foundations to very few. The consent-obsessed playbook for healthy sexual relations crossed with highly sexualized and deviant culture is, to quote Chappelle: "f-ing confusing". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL-1kHxsavI
The Duke Lacrosse case was a huge nail in a yawningly large coffin.
"Until Proven Innocent" is a textbook case and a great book on the same thing ES writes about so effectively here.
Corporate Media is disgusting. It's confusing to me why anyone pays attention to any of it.
It was an interesting read right here. Something I knew nothing about until you brought it to my attention, Ethan.
It just reminds me how these sports entities just need to fill content. And the ex-punter of the Bills and sexual assault accusations certainly fills content. And it makes sense they used this is in August (during the dog days of summer). But, by the time NFL and CFB season was in full swing, how frequently was it mentioned on any of these big sports shows?
It's not that these people want to set the record straight, but rather - nobody cares if they do or not, as the Cowboys are playing their in-State rivals Texans today!
If it turns out that the guy did not commit an assault as alleged— his life is likely ruined by this. Opportunity to provide for himself and his family has been incalculably reduced. Would truly be a shame.
We really treating the Justice system as the equalizer ??
extremely well-written. I like the forensic analysis of Deadspin (have thought Carron was a huck for years) and the NYT leaving out the video is damning.
Fair or unfair, it's all about risk assessment, especially for anyone who has any chance of becoming famous.