Remember me
NFL star 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 in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Tuesday.
It is unclear what led to the charges, which include felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanour assault and battery.
David Meier, lawyer for the New England Patriots player, said in an emailed statement that Diggs “categorically denies these allegations”.
Mr 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,” Mr Meier wrote.
In a statement, the Patriots said they were also standing by Diggs.
“We support Stefon,” the team said.
Diggs, 32, established himself as one of the NFL’s best wide receivers during a run with Minnesota and Buffalo from 2018 to 2023, and was selected to the Pro Bowl four times.
Stefon Diggs has established himself as one of the NFL’s best wide receivers (Nick Wass/AP) (Nick Wass/AP) After a lacklustre stint in Houston last year, Diggs ended up in New England, signing a three-year, 69 million US dollars (£51 million) deal in free agency that guaranteed him 26 million US dollars (£19 million).
Diggs is said to be a big reason why the team has once again clinched the AFC East title as the team heads toward the playoffs.
Off the field though, his tenure with the Patriots got off to a rocky start when a video surfaced on social media in May showing Diggs passing what appeared to be a bag of pink crystals to women on a boat.
It was not clear what the substance was, and an NFL spokesperson said the league would not comment.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said the team would handle that matter internally.
