BOSTON — Former New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs was discovered not responsible on Tuesday of assaulting his personal chef in a pay dispute.
The four-time Professional Bowl wideout pleaded not responsible in February to a felony strangulation cost and a misdemeanor assault and battery cost stemming from the alleged dispute.
The trial lasted solely two days.
The acquittal clears a path for Diggs’ return to the sphere, however he nonetheless may face self-discipline from the NFL.
“We’ve got been monitoring all developments within the matter which stays beneath evaluate of the non-public conduct coverage,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy stated Tuesday.
The case centered on a Dec. 2 encounter at Diggs’ house in Dedham, the place Jamila Adams, a former live-in private chef who is named Mila, testified that he slapped and choked her throughout an argument.
Diggs’ attorneys stated the alleged assault by no means occurred and questioned Adams’ credibility and whether or not the dispute was about cash, relationship tensions — together with a disagreement over a deliberate journey to Miami — or an alleged assault.
“We’ve got taken these allegations significantly from day one and that is precisely why we have been longing for the info to return to mild by means of the authorized course of,” Mitch Schuster of Meister, Seelig & Schuster stated in a press release. “… Skilled athletes have a goal on their again. When somebody sees a uniform and a contract, they see leverage; they see a settlement. They usually’re relying on that strain within the court docket of public opinion to drive a default resolution to settle whatever the info of the matter.
“The proof has proven what we have maintained from day one: Mr. Diggs was wrongly accused, and this case represents precisely the form of opportunistic focusing on that gamers can face the second they step off the sphere.”
Diggs’ attorneys pointed to monetary calls for she made and testimony from pals and workers who stated she didn’t seem injured within the days after the encounter, and protection lawyer Andrew Kettlewell advised jurors throughout closing arguments that prosecutors had not introduced “a single shred of credible proof” that an assault occurred.
Prosecutors argued that the case rested on Adams’ account of what occurred inside the house, with Assistant District Legal professional Drew Advantage having urged jurors to weigh her testimony fastidiously and to not disregard it as a result of she was not “an ideal witness.”
“She was argumentative, avoidant, troublesome. However does that imply you need to throw away every thing she stated? No,” Advantage stated, including that jurors ought to give her testimony “the eye, the scrutiny, the load it deserves.”
Earlier within the trial, Adams turned emotional on the stand whereas describing an alleged encounter with Diggs by which she stated he entered her room following an argument over textual content.
Adams, who stated she lived within the NFL star’s house and ready all of his meals, testified that Diggs “smacked me with an open hand” earlier than wrapping his arm round her neck and choking her, leaving her struggling to breathe. She described what she known as a “difficult” relationship, saying it had beforehand been sexual however was not on the time of the alleged assault.
Adams stated that she met Diggs in 2022 on Instagram and that the 2 turned pals — at instances “pals with advantages,” as considered one of his attorneys described it — earlier than she was later employed to reside in his house and put together his meals through the soccer season.
Protection attorneys pressed Adams about cash she stated she was owed after working as a live-in chef. She testified that she was paid about $2,000 per week and that she believed she had not been totally compensated after being despatched house. They pointed to a $19,000 demand and stated the quantity elevated over time, along with her lawyer later searching for $5.5 million.
When requested concerning the $5.5 million declare, Adams stated, “I can not converse on that,” and at different factors advised jurors, “I do not perceive the query” and “I do not know find out how to reply the query.”
At one level, Adams stated Diggs had supplied her $100,000 to recant her assertion to the police, however that comment was struck from the file after the decide known as the attorneys to a sidebar.
At instances throughout her second day on the stand, Adams was instructed by the decide to reply questions straight and never embrace extra particulars past what was requested. Parts of her responses have been struck from the file as nonresponsive, with jurors advised to ignore them.
“This isn’t a possibility so that you can interject your personal narrative and evade answering questions,” Choose Jeanmarie Carroll advised her at one level, warning that continued nonresponsive solutions may lead to her testimony being stricken.
Kenneth Ellis, the Dedham police officer who took Adams’ preliminary report, testified that she arrived on the station visibly upset, telling jurors she “sat down on the bench and she or he was crying.” He stated Adams initially requested to talk with a feminine officer earlier than later agreeing to offer a press release and figuring out Diggs because the individual concerned.
Below cross-examination, Ellis stated that he didn’t observe seen accidents, accumulate pictures or converse with different witnesses and that his investigation relied largely on Adams’ account and textual content messages she offered.
Protection attorneys additionally sought to problem Adams’ account by means of testimony from folks in Diggs’ orbit and proof they stated mirrored her demeanor within the days after the alleged incident.
His chief of workers, his therapeutic massage therapist, a nurse who offered IV remedies and his hairstylist all testified that they noticed Adams across the time of the alleged assault and that she stated nothing about being assaulted.
His hairstylist, Xia Charles, testified that she frolicked with Adams in New York within the days after the alleged incident and didn’t discover any accidents. She stated that Adams appeared regular and that she didn’t see marks on Adams’ neck or elsewhere.
Protection attorneys additionally confirmed jurors mobile phone movies of Adams socializing, together with clips of her in a automotive listening to music and dancing, which they steered confirmed her demeanor within the days following the incident.
Jeanelle Gross sales, Diggs’ chief of workers, who additionally goes by “Sunni,” testified she noticed Adams on the house on the day she alleged she was assaulted and didn’t see seen marks, redness or swelling on her neck or face. She stated Adams gave the impression to be in regular spirits.
“She was strolling round on the lookout for a chunk of paper and a pen to write down a card — I assume, write a be aware to him for his birthday reward,” Gross sales stated.
Prosecutors pushed again on that testimony, suggesting that the witnesses’ livelihoods have been tied to Diggs and that they’d a monetary curiosity within the final result of the case.
Diggs, who was launched by the Patriots in March, signed a three-year, $69 million contract with New England final yr and was a key goal for quarterback Drake Maye through the Patriots’ AFC East title run. Earlier than becoming a member of the Patriots, Diggs was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2015 and performed for the Buffalo Payments earlier than a short stint with the Houston Texans in 2024.
Diggs’ 1,000-yard season marked the seventh of his profession. It helped full a profitable profession revival after a season-ending knee harm derailed what turned out to be a one-year stick with the Texans in 2024.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
