Former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs made headlines on Tuesday for all the wrong reasons after it was revealed that the current New England Patriots pass-catcher is currently facing multiple criminal charges that stem from an alleged incident that occurred earlier this month.
Diggs has been charged with felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery after allegedly choking and slapping a woman who was working for him as a private chef.
The alleged altercation happened on December 2nd after the woman and Diggs argued through text messages over a payment that she alleges she never received from the former Vikings receiver.
ESPN's Mike Reiss shared a detailed description of the alleged incident and what Diggs is being accused of doing.
"According to a police report, a woman went to police Dec. 16 and shared that she was working as a private chef on the date of the incident in question when Diggs entered her unlocked bedroom and allegedly smacked her across the face after they had discussed money owed to her.
According to police, she said she attempted to push Diggs away when he allegedly tried to choke her with his elbow around her neck and later threw her on to the bed and said, "lies" when she said she had not been paid."
Former Minnesota Vikings WR Stefon Diggs "categorically denies" all allegations made against him
Following the news of Diggs' charges on Tuesday, his lawyer released a statement on behalf of the veteran wideout.
"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 [are] 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."
According to the Boston Globe, Diggs' lawyers are currently working on coming up with "a monetary resolution" between the wide receiver and his accuser. An arraignment is scheduled for January 23rd, and more is expected to be known about the future of the case after that.
Diggs, who spent the first five years of his NFL career with Minnesota, is in the middle of his first season with the Patriots. The 32-year-old receiver signed with New England back in March, and he's appeared in all 16 of the team's games this season.