Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs facing strangulation, assault charges

New England Patriots star wide receiver 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 Tuesday in Dedham, Mass. It is unclear what led to the charges, which include felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery.

Diggs's lawyer, David Meier, said in an emailed statement the player "categorically denies these allegations."

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," 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, when he had six consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons and was selected to the Pro Bowl four times.

After a lacklustre stint in Houston last year, Diggs ended up in New England, signing a three-year, $69-million US deal in free agency that guaranteed him $26 million.

Diggs has proven a reliable target for second-year quarterback Drake Maye and is 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 wasn't clear what the substance was,