CNN —

NFL rookie punter Matt Araiza has been released from the Buffalo Bills days after he and two other football players were accused in a lawsuit of gang raping a then-17-year-old girl during an off-campus party at San Diego State University last year.

"This afternoon, we decided that releasing Matt Araiza was the best thing to do. Our culture in Buffalo is more important than winning football games," team general manager Brandon Beane announced on Saturday.

Araiza and two other current or former San Diego State University football players are accused of gang-raping the girl at a Halloween party last year, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the attorney for the plaintiff identified in court documents as "Jane Doe."

Araiza and his co-defendants, Zavier Leonard and Nowlin "Pa'a" Ewaliko, were on San Diego State's football team at the time of the alleged incident last October.

Araiza's attorney, Kerry Armstrong, told CNN Friday his client did not rape the accuser.

"The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press. I look forward to quickly setting the record straight," Araiza said in a statement issued through his attorney.

Jane Doe says she attended a party in the San Diego area with friends, but was separated from them when she met Araiza, according to the claim. The filing further asserts Araiza "could observe that Doe was heavily intoxicated" and "handed her a drink anyway."

"Doe informed Araiza that she attended Grossmont High School. Araiza, who was 21 years old, knew or should have known that Doe was a minor," the complaint says.

Araiza's attorney disputed the claim, saying, "He never used any force against her. She was not visibly intoxicated. He did not hand her a drink with anything in it."

The complaint says Araiza led the girl to a bedroom where "there were at least three other men already in the bedroom," including Leonard and Ewaliko, who were both at least 18 at the time.

"Doe was raped for about an hour and a half until the party was shut down. Doe stumbled out of the room bloody and crying," said the complaint.

The girl reported the alleged incident the next day to the San Diego Police Department and underwent a rape examination at a hospital, according to the lawsuit.

Nowlin "Pa'a" Ewaliko's lawyer Marc Carlos told CNN in a phone interview he sees some issues with Doe's credibility and the circumstances under which she reported the event. "The filing of the civil suit is clearly an attempt to put pressure on the DA to file a case," he said. Ewaliko is not enrolled at SDSU this semester, according to Carlos.

Zavier Leonard's attorney Jahmal Kersey declined to comment but told CNN they are aware of the lawsuit.

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office said the investigation is under review, but did not indicate when a charging decision will be made.

San Diego State released a statement saying it "takes allegations of sexual assault seriously," but was not able to release specific details on the case due to privacy concerns stating the allegations were still under "active university investigation." The statement said further a violation of the university's student code of conduct could potentially result in "suspension, dismissal or expulsion."

The Buffalo Bills were made aware of the allegations in late July when they were contacted by a representative of the alleged victim, Beane said in a news conference Saturday.

"The last 48 has been very difficult for a lot of people. It's been tough, and we sympathize with this whole situation, all the parties involved," Beane said.

"Ultimately, this is a legal situation. We don't know all the facts and that's what makes it hard, but at this time we just think it's the best move for everyone to move on from Matt and let him take care of this situation and focus on that," Beane added. "So, we're going to part ways there."

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — For the first time since the pandemic, graduates are walking across a stage to receive their diploma, hearing their names in-person instead of through a screen.

But even before facing a global pandemic, some students weren't sure this day would ever come.

"For lack of a better word: surreal. I just can’t believe it," said Cameron McCullough, a biology major at San Diego State University (SDSU).

A few months into his freshman year, his mom was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, metastatic to the bone. Eventually, they couldn’t pay the mounting bills for his education.

“The school didn’t know anything. I received a notice on my door saying three-day pay or quit," McCullough recalled.

At the same time, an SDSU faculty member was getting treated for her own cancer diagnosis.

"I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2017, and after a year of rigorous treatment, I was deemed no-evidence of disease," said Tammy Blackburn.

A star basketball player for San Diego State, Blackburn found a permanent home at the college when she became a faculty member 23 years ago.

“I was only in remission until I wasn’t. Six months later, I received a diagnosis of stage 4 metastatic breast cancer," said Blackburn. "As I was in treatment, there was a young gal that walked into an infusion one day. For whatever reason, my eyes locked and as I was driving home that afternoon, I kept thinking about, 'Why her? She’s so young?'”

Between the PET scans, treatments, and hospital visits, Blackburn set her mind on another purpose.

“This student fund is meant to keep students in school. The goal is for them to graduate and not allow a personal diagnosis of cancer, or that of a loved one, to take them away from their dreams," Blackburn said.

With help from the administration, she created the Wallace Shatsky Blackburn Courage Through Cancer Fund, named for the UC San Diego Health doctors who saved her life.

“Those initial donations started to come in, and suddenly I started to see the vision: getting Cameron to his junior year, getting him to his senior year, making sure he had books, housing, meals, tuition, everything paid for," said Blackburn.

She visited McCullough's home to let them know he was the fund's first recipient. From that day on, he not only had financial support but a community.

“Tammy is the person I can text late at night or right before an exam," said McCullough. "My backbone."

“And I’ll be standing at the opposite end of the stage when his name is announced. It’s not something you can explain how you feel," said Blackburn. "I just wanted, wanted him to finish and earn his degree. He deserves that.”

With celebratory air hugs and fist bumps, the moment may have looked a little different but felt exactly as they’d imagined.

"I don’t feel good on most days. But when I have something there to grasp, and it’s full of goodness, and it's full of being able to help others – that’s what you grab onto," said Blackburn.

As McCullough goes on to research stem cell cancer treatments, Blackburn will continue helping students reach a finish line they were always destined to cross.

With the Courage Through Cancer fund, they've been able to help more than 20 students at SDSU.

"When cancer calls at San Diego State, San Diego State has an answer," said Blackburn. "They have somewhere to turn. They have somewhere to look to when cancer takes all that away.”