New York (AFP) – New England Patriots star Stefon Diggs pleaded not guilty on Friday to assault charges stemming from an alleged December altercation with a member of his staff. Less than a week after playing for the Patriots in their Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the veteran wide receiver was in court in Dedham, Massachusetts, where his lawyer said he was confident Diggs would be “completely exonerated.”
Diggs is facing charges of felony strangulation or suffocation and a lesser assault and battery charge against a live-in chef, according to prosecutors. He was released on personal recognizance and is due back in court on April 1.
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“We are confident that after the facts and evidence are reviewed in this case, he will be completely exonerated,” attorney Mitchell Schuster told reporters outside the court, where Diggs’s arraignment lasted less than five minutes.
A police report from the Dedham Police Department says the alleged victim came to a police station on December 16 to report the incident, which she said stemmed from a pay dispute. She told police Diggs struck her in the face and tried to choke her “using the crook of his elbow around her neck,” according to the report.
When charges were filed on December 30, defense attorney David Meier said in a statement that Diggs “categorically denies these allegations.”
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