The NFL world was stunned on Wednesday when, with barely more than a week to go before the start of the playoffs, four-time Pro Bowl New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs was hit with serious allegations of criminal assault.
The charges, according to a report cited by Heavy.com writer Sophie Weller, include âfelony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery charges stemming from an incident on Tuesday, December 2.â
The victim, a woman, is identified in the police report as Diggsâ private chef who worked for him at his home in Dedham, Massachusetts. Her name is not given in the police report.
Diggs told the Patriots that he âcategorically denies the allegations,â according to a statement by the team released quickly after the charges became public.
âWe support Stefon,â the team statement said.
Maye Also Supports Diggs
Patriots sophomore quarterback Drake Maye â the current NFL leader in passer rating at 112.9 â echoed the team statement, telling the media on Wednesday that he will also support Diggs âany way I can.â
The Patriots appear to be taking something of a risk by offering their unconditional support to a player accused of such a shocking crime. But are they?
A top New York criminal defense lawyer does not appear to believe so, and made a prediction about the Diggs case in an interview published Wednesday.
Lawyer Cites Report’s ‘Credibility Issues’
According to an account of the case by Los Angeles Magazine reporter Lauren Conlin, the alleged victim claimed Diggs owed her one monthâs worth of salary.
âOn December 2, during an argument over the unpaid money, Diggs entered her unlocked bedroom after a disagreement, struck her across the face, and placed his arm around her neck from behind, restricting her breathing, tightening his grip as she tried to pull away, and then threw her onto a bed before leaving the room,” Conlin wrote, describing the allegations in the police report.
The alleged victim did not, however, document her injuries with photographic evidence and held off on reporting the alleged incident to Dedham police for another two weeks. At that time, she did not press charges against Diggs.
But after another week went by, on December 23, she changed her mind after an assistant to Diggs, she said, required her to sign a nondisclosure agreement before Diggs would pay her.
Those facts weigh heavily in Diggsâ favor, according to New York criminal lawyer Mark Bederow, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney, who commented on the case via his social media account.
âLot of credibility issues stick out in that police report against Stefon Diggs,â Bederow wrote.
Lawyer ‘Shocked’ if Case Went to Trial
âIn these circumstances, the delay in reporting, the lack of injuries and photographs and the fact this is at its core a dispute over money bodes very well for Diggs as it will impact the witnessâs credibility,â Bederow said in the interview with Conlin.
He also said the fact that, according to one of Diggsâ attorneys, the Patriots receiver is currently attempting to work out the issue financially with the complainant would not count against him.
âWorking out a payment will not implicate him. It shows both partiesâ motive to resolve the matter and would likely impact the credibility of the complainant more than Diggs,â Bederow said in the interview.
So how does the New York lawyer believe the case will turn out for Diggs?
âI would be shocked if this case went on for a long time and ended up in a trial,â Bederow told Conlin. âIn fact, I would expect it to be over very quickly after the two parties come to a financial agreement.â
Bederow added on his social media account that he âwould expect Diggs to be OK and would not at all be surprised for this to go away soon.â
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