It’s not unheard for a situation like what unfolded between Stefon Diggs and the New England Patriots media this week to happen over the course of a season. It just doesn’t usually play out so publicly.
Diggs continued to make headlines off the field ahead of his on-field debut with New England when he cleared the air with the local media in a press conference ahead of Week 1. The former All-Pro called out two reporters by names for previous comments while also apologizing for any of his actions. The reporters then apologized to Diggs, too, during the press conference, and apparently it was all put behind them.
One of the reporters, NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry explained the drama started when he asked Patriots coach Mike Vrabel about some of Diggs’ comments on a podcast. That eventually led to Perry wondering if Diggs was becoming a “pain in the posterior” for the Patriots.
Patriots Reporter Shares His Side of Stefon Diggs Story
“I said (on TV) something along the lines of ‘We’re starting to get some evidence here that maybe he’s starting to become a bit of a pain in the posterior’ is how I put it because I’m cheesy and a loser,” Perry said during a segment with “Toucher and Hardy” on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
” … That sort of got clipped and viral, whatever. Whether it goes viral or not, I did feel soon thereafter, that was kind of speculative, No. 1, and it was also sort of delving into somebody’s character which is a lane I’m not usually traveling in. I said I should probably apologize to this guy.”
Perry, who said it even got to the point where Diggs’ girlfriend, star rapper Cardi B, liked a tweet calling Perry an idiot, the reporter revealed.
However, when he tried to apologize to Diggs, it sounds like Perry couldn’t quite squash the issue, at least not in the way he has in the past.
“I’ve said a lot of things that players haven’t liked, that coaches haven’t liked and had a lot of interactions where I end up apologizing which is fine. I’ve gotten pretty good at it. I’ve had to do a lot of it over the years.
“… I tried a couple of different times, got (Diggs) in the locker room on Friday and said ‘Hey, I’d like to apologize for something I said on the air recently.’ He said ‘Don’t worry about it, we’re good, we’ll talk next week,’ (with a) big smile and walks out the door and (then) we had the press conference (Sept. 3).”
Did Diggs Get One Up on Patriots Media?
Perry didn’t sound peeved with how the presser went down, but it’s almost certainly by design that Diggs waited until that moment to start airing grievances. Whether that was a power play only he really knows, but getting two of the top reporters on the beat (Perry and Tom E. Curran) to publicly apologize during a press conference is unusual, to say the least.
“I’m fine with the way he handled it yesterday … if we’re going to have a platform to talk about other people in a way they don’t like, for him to call me out in a press conference setting, I have to be OK with that too,” Perry added. “I think it’d be hypocritical to not be (OK with it).”
Diggs, Perry, and honestly, everyone else get to put it all behind them on Sept. 7 when the Patriots host the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium. Diggs is expected to play after missing nine games last season with a torn ACL.
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