New England Patriots
“I don’t think we have to jump to any sort of conclusions right now. Let the process take its toll.”
FOXBOROUGH — A successful turnaround season for the Patriots was marred by a pair of key players on New England’s roster facing criminal charges this week.
News broke on Tuesday morning that star receiver Stefon Diggs is facing several charges, including felony strangulation, for an alleged altercation with his personal chef.
On Wednesday morning, news came to light that defensive tackle Christian Barmore has been charged with domestic assault and battery.
Ahead of Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Dolphins, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel faced the media Wednesday afternoon, stressing that the team was aware of both incidents and is letting the legal process play out before taking any additional course of action.
“These aren’t a surprise, that today and yesterday this came out,” Vrabel said, adding: “We’ve taken the allegations very seriously. What comes of that, then we’ll have another discussion. But I don’t think we have to jump to any sort of conclusions right now. Let the process take its toll.”
Vrabel was asked how disappointing it is to deal with off-the-field distractions — especially involving criminal charges — at this juncture of the NFL calendar.
“I would say not disappointing at all. I think that — these are allegations, like you mentioned in your question,” Vrabel said. “It’s things that we have to handle and every day that there’s distractions. Some are smaller than others. I’m confident that we’ll focus on the Dolphins and those two individuals that you mentioned will be able to handle the ongoing legal process.”
Diggs is facing charges of felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery from an incident that occurred on Dec. 2 in Dedham. According to public court filings, Diggs allegedly choked and hit a woman who had been working as his chef in a dispute over money.
Diggs told the Patriots that he “categorically denies the allegations,” according to a team statement released Tuesday.
Barmore’s misdemeanor charge revolves around an alleged incident on Aug. 8 at Barmore’s home in Mansfield.
According to charging documents, the alleged victim — who Barmore had purportedly been dating on and off for several years — was gathering her belongings to leave the home after Barmore became angry that the thermostat was set to 70 degrees and that she had eaten some of his food.
She said in the report that she was speaking to her mother on the phone when Barmore allegedly took the device out of her hand and disconnected the call. The alleged victim “intended to open the door and scream for help but Christian grabbed her before she could and threw her to the floor.”
Diggs is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 23. Barmore’s arraignment date is currently set for Feb. 3.
Vrabel said on Wednesday that he doesn’t believe that both Diggs and Barmore won’t be cleared to play in Sunday’s game against Miami.
“I haven’t heard anything that would keep either player from the game,” Vrabel said.
The NFL could put both Diggs and Barmore on the Commissioner’s Exempt list while this legal process plays out, as was the case last year with former Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers. Vrabel said Wednesday that he has not heard anything from the NFL as far as league-imposed discipline against Diggs and Barmore.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reached out to NFL league spokesman Brian McCarthy about the status of both Diggs and Barmore on Wednesday afternoon.
“There is no change to the status of Diggs or Barmore. Both are eligible to play at this time,” McCarthy told Pelissero. “Pursuant to the Personal Conduct Policy, consideration for placement on the Commissioner Exempt List may be considered following formal charges in the form of an indictment by a grand jury, the filing of charges by a prosecutor, or an arraignment in a criminal court.”
As far as his message to the rest of his team amid an eventful week, Vrabel stressed the need for the Patriots to remain focused on Sunday’s matchup against the Dolphins.
“I talked to the team about making sure that we speak to ourselves,” Vrabel said. “If Stef and Christian have something to say, I support that, but we’re also going to speak for ourselves and make sure they are focused on what they have to do and the improvements they have to make. The focus this week is improve through practice and try to finish what we started.”
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