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New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs had no choice but to move on from a tough Super Bowl loss.
Just five days after being part of a 29-13 loss that gave the Seattle Seahawks the Lombardi Trophy, the 32-year-old pleaded not guilty to charges of strangulation or strangulation and misdemeanor assault and battery.
Diggs’ attorney, Michael Schuster, told reporters outside the courtroom Friday that Diggs is “completely innocent” of the “false allegations.”
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Stefon Diggs of the New England Patriots runs on the field prior to Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on February 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
“We are confident that after the facts and evidence are reviewed in this case, he will be fully exonerated,” Schuster said via WEEI Radio.
Diggs’ first court appearance, originally scheduled for Jan. 23, two days before the AFC title game, was pushed back to Friday due to a “previously scheduled professional engagement.”
A police narrative in a lawsuit said a woman went to the Dedham Police Department on Dec. 16 to report that two weeks earlier, while working as a private chef for Diggs, he entered her bedroom and became angry during a discussion about money.
The woman told police that Diggs “threw her in the face.” She tried to push him away and then “he tried to choke her by using the elbow hook around her neck.”
Stefon Diggs of the New England Patriots warms up at Super Bowl LX held at Levi’s Stadium on February 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)
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“She said he was behind her with his arm wrapped around her,” Officer Kenneth J. Ellis wrote. “She said she felt like she was having trouble breathing and that she felt like she might have blacked out.”
Diggs threw her on a bed and called her “lies” when she told him she hadn’t been paid, Ellis wrote. The cook sought payment for a week in November when Diggs hosted house guests and had to go home, Ellis wrote. The woman “left her position” and home in Dedham, but returned on Dec. 9 to collect her property. At that point, she told police, Diggs referred her to his assistant, who said she would have to sign a nondisclosure agreement before she would be paid. She did not sign, the police said.
The woman was reluctant to press charges until later in December, Ellis wrote, when “she let me know she had changed her mind as of a few days ago” and wanted to pursue criminal charges.
Stefon Diggs of the New England Patriots takes the field before Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on February 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
Diggs was mostly silent during the Super Bowl with just three catches for 37 yards. He and Cardi B have also been rumored to have broken up, with speculation that it actually happened during the match. Cardi B was spotted on the court during Bad Bunny’s halftime break with Jessica Alba.
Fellow Patriots teammate Christian Barmore faces domestic charges and his hearing is set for March 9.
