New England Patriots star wide receiver Stefon Diggs is facing strangulation and other criminal charges in connection with an incident that happened earlier this month, police said.
News of the charges emerged after a court hearing Tuesday in Dedham, Massachusetts. It is unclear what led to the charges, which include felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery.
"The New England Patriots are aware of the accusations that have been made regarding Stefon Diggs," the Patriots said in a statement on Tuesday. "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."
Diggs' lawyer, David Meier, also said in an emailed statement that Diggs "categorically denies these allegations."
Meier said the allegations never occurred, describing them as unsubstantiated and uncorroborated.
"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," Meier wrote.
The NFL said in a statement that the league is "aware of the matter and have been in contact with the club. We have no further comment at this time."
A police narrative in a court filing about the case said a woman came to the Dedham Police Department on Dec. 16 to say that two weeks earlier, while working as a private chef for Diggs, he came into her bedroom and became angry during a discussion about money. The woman told police Diggs "smacked her across the face," she tried to push him away and then 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 did feel like she had trouble breathing and that she felt like 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 was having houseguests and she had to go home, Ellis wrote. The woman "left her position" and the home in Dedham but returned on Dec. 9 to retrieve her property. At that point, she told police, Diggs referred her to his assistant, who told the woman she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before she would be paid. She did not sign it, police said.
The woman was reluctant to file charges until last week, Ellis wrote, when "she let me know that she had changed her mind from a few days ago" and wanted criminal charges.
Diggs, 32, established himself as one of the NFL's best wide receivers during a run with Minnesota and Buffalo from 2018 to 2023, when he had six consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
After a lackluster stint in Houston last year, Diggs ended up in New England, making him one of the team's biggest offseason acquisitions. He has proven a reliable target for second-year quarterback Drake Maye and is a big reason why the team has once again clinched the AFC East title as the team heads toward the playoffs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
