BOSTON (AP) – New England Patriots star wide receiver Stefon Diggs is facing charges of strangulation and other crimes related to a dispute with his former private chef, according to police.
News about the charges came out after a court hearing on Tuesday in Dedham, Massachusetts. Diggs faces a felony charge of strangulation or suffocation and a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery.
Diggs’ lawyer, David Meier, stated in an email that Diggs “categorically denies these allegations.”
Meier claimed the allegations never happened, calling them unsubstantiated and uncorroborated.
“The timing and motivation for making the allegations is clear: they stem from an employee-employer financial dispute that was not resolved to the employee’s satisfaction,” Meier wrote.
The Patriots also expressed their support for Diggs: “We support Stefon,” the team said.
A police narrative in court filings said a woman visited the Dedham Police Department on December 16 to report an incident from two weeks earlier. While working as a private chef for Diggs, she said he came into her bedroom and got angry during a conversation about money. The woman told police Diggs “smacked her across the face.” She tried to push him away, and he “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck.”
“She said that he was behind her with his arm wrapped around her,” wrote Officer Kenneth J. Ellis. “She said that she felt like she had trouble breathing and that she thought she could have blacked out.” Diggs threw her on a bed and said “lies” when she told him she had not been paid, Ellis wrote.
The chef sought payment for a week in November when Diggs had guests at his house and she had to go home. The woman “left her position” and the home in Dedham but returned on December 9 to get her belongings. At that time, she told police, Diggs referred her to his assistant, who said she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before she would be paid. She did not sign it, police said.
The woman hesitated to file charges until last week, according to Ellis. She then informed him that she had changed her mind and wanted to pursue criminal charges.
Diggs, 32, established himself as one of the NFL’s top wide receivers during his time with Minnesota and Buffalo from 2018 to 2023, achieving six consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons and being selected to the Pro Bowl four times.
After a disappointing season in Houston last year, Diggs signed a three-year, $69 million deal with New England as a free agent, which guaranteed him $26 million.
He has become a reliable target for second-year quarterback Drake Maye and is a significant reason the team clinched the AFC East title again as they head towards the playoffs.
However, off the field, his time with the Patriots began controversially when a video appeared on social media in May showing Diggs giving what looked like a bag of pink crystals to women on a boat.
It was unclear what the substance was, and an NFL spokesperson said the league would not comment. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel stated that the team would handle the issue internally.
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Source: https://apnews.com/
