Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs has been charged with felony strangulation or suffocation, and misdemeanor assault and battery charges stemming from an incident on Tuesday, Dec. 2 - the day after the Patriots beat the Giants on Monday night football, according to Boston 25 News and the Boston Globe.
No details were disclosed in Dedham District Court. Diggs' attorney filed a motion to impound the case documents, and indicated they are working on a monetary settlement for the incident.
The Patriots have released a statement on the matter, stating that Diggs has told the team that he "categorically denies the allegations":
"The New England Patriots are aware of the accusations that have been made regarding Stefon Diggs. Stefon has informed the organization that he categorically denies the allegations. We support Stefon. We will continue to gather information and will cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities and the NFL as necessary. Out of respect for all parties involved, and given that this is an ongoing legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time."
This could put the rest of Diggs' season at risk. The NFL will dispatch investigators to the area to determine the seriousness of the allegations. They could decide to put him on the Commissioner's Exempt List, which would all but end his season.
Jabrill Peppers missed seven games last season after being placed on that list. But he was arrested and charged. This is a bit different, but it's hard to know how serious it truly is without the police reports, which have not been released. But, obviously, prosecutors thought they had enough evidence to charge him of serious crimes, especially felony strangulation.
UPDATE: So to update some things ...
• There have been no charges filed against Diggs, just a criminal complaint. Charges would come at the scheduled arraignment on Jan. 23, but the defense is trying to get that pushed back.
• Until formal charges are presented, it does not fall under the Commissioner's Exempt List criteria.
• Some documents, including the police report, have been released. Diggs is alleged by the female victim to have withheld payment as his personal chef. There were some crass text messages from Diggs on Dec. 2, and then Diggs allegedly entered her bedroom and assaulted her. At this point, there is no corroborating evidence or witnesses of this.
• The victim vacated the house after the incident and returned to collect her belongings on Dec. 9. She reported the incident to police on Dec. 16.
• The police tried to contact Diggs on Dec. 20 and 22nd, but the calls went to voicemail, and the messages were not returned.
• On Dec. 23rd, the victim decided to proceed with the charges.
• Statement by attorney David Meier: "Stefon Diggs categorically denies these allegations. They are unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, and were never investigated--because they did not occur. The timing and motivation for making the allegations is crystal clear: they are the direct result of an employee-employer financial dispute that was not resolved to the employee's satisfaction. Stefon looks forward to establishing the truth in a court of law."
• I'd be surprised if this a) sidelines Diggs anytime soon, and b) proceeds to the point that formal charges are brought.
• I read the Patriots' statement of "We support Stefon," as part of Mike Vrabel's mantra that they care about their players as people first. Even if this was a more serious situation, I think we would see that same statement. But time will tell. This is the first such incident under Vrabel.