San Diego State coach, athletic director leave press conference after questions about gang-rape allegations
Wicker defended the school's handling of the accusations, denying that SDSU 'swept this under the rug'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}San Diego State University athletic director John David Wicker and head football coach Brady Hoke abruptly left a news conference on Monday after refusing to answer questions from reporters about gang-rape allegations involving former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza and two of his former teammates.
The press conference began with Hoke and Wicker both giving prepared statements following a lawsuit that alleged that Araiza, Zavier Leonard and Nowlin Ewaliko repeatedly raped a 17-year-old high school student at an off-campus party back in October 2021.
Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza waves to fans after a preseason NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in Orchard Park, N.Y., Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, File)
"Foremost, the university’s investigation is active, so there is very little I can share. I can confirm that [Nowlin] Ewaliko and Zavier Leonard are not currently members of the team, but I can not provide more specifics and will not be answering questions related to either of those players or Matt Araiza," Wicker opened by saying.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"To be absolutely clear: We take allegations of sexual assault seriously, and do not support any actions or behaviors that cause harm to others. As husbands and fathers, Coach Hoke and I fundamentally agree on this: Under no circumstance would we ever support an environment that supports abusive behavior."
Hoke echoed those comments, saying he would not provide further comment, citing an "active" and "ongoing" investigation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"What was reported to have happened should never happen. Ever. It shouldn’t happen to anyone. And what’s been important to us is that anyone who violates or violated the law or university policies, they’ll be held accountable," Hoke said. "We preach accountability in this program, and as we have always said, we are committed to holding accountable students who violate the university’s policies.
San Diego State head coach Brady Hoke on the sideline during the Mountain West Championship college football game between the Utah State Aggies and the San Diego State Aztecs on December 04, 2021, at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles. (Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"I’m a husband, and I’m a father, and we deeply respect, believe me, and appreciate the women in my life. I can guarantee you that it’s intolerable for what has been reported. There’s no protecting anyone, we’re not here to do that. That’s part of being accountable. There’s no support or encouragement or a code of silence, and we won’t compromise on that. We will hold ourselves and our community and our players to the highest standard."
MATT ARAIZA’S PARENTS RELEASE STATEMENT AMID RAPE ALLEGATIONS: ‘WE HAVE ALL BEEN CANCELED’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hoke said that the university will continue to support the San Diego Police Department’s investigation and the district attorney’s review of the case.
The duo then turned to the crowd of reporters to answer questions about the season and their upcoming game against Arizona on Saturday, but they were flooded with questions surrounding the case.
"Again, we’re here to talk about the Arizona football game and the opening of Snapdragon Stadium," Wicker said in response.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Again we’ll take questions related to the game this weekend. If there are none, then we can end the press conference," he repeated to another question.
The pair then ended the presser and left the room, but Wicker returned a few minutes later and defended the school’s handling of the allegations.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I still firmly believe that allowing SDPD to handle the investigation of this was the right way to go," he said. "SDPD asked us not to investigate because they felt like it would impede or potentially impact negatively their investigation, so we chose to do that."
He denied any suggestion that the school "swept" the allegations aside.
"It is absolutely not true that we swept this under the rug because it is football and because we were having a successful season. That is not who we are. That is not who I am."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Buffalo Bills placekicker Tyler Bass, #2, boots the winning field goal as punter Matt Araiza, #19, releases the ball while Indianapolis Colts cornerback Alexander Myres, #41, tries to defend in the second half of a preseason NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
According to the Los Angeles Times, a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court accuses Araiza of having sex with the minor outside a home and later bringing her to an off-campus party where she was repeatedly raped.
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The alleged victim, who was in high school at the time, said she was in and out of consciousness but can recall the moments where the men repeatedly assaulted her.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Bills have since released Araiza and both he and his family have since denied all allegations.
Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.