Just hours after a officials charged NFL player Stefon Diggs with strangulation and assault charges, details around the alleged incident have emerged.
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TMZ shared a rundown of the case after reviewing incident reports. The alleged victim, whose name is not being released, was a female chef under Diggs’ employ starting in July. In November, they had a dispute over the woman’s pay, stemming from a week where Diggs unexpectedly told her not to work — and chose not to honor her salary rate for that week as a result.
As TMZ summarizes, “She said she disputed that, stating she did not request the break, and therefore, she should still receive her salary.” Amidst this dispute, she allegedly was missing a full month’s payment for work.
Diggs allegedly confronted her about the dispute on Dec. 2. The woman claims Diggs became enraged, hit her in the face and put her in a headlock. The report claims the New England Patriots wide receiver “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck” to the point where the alleged victim “”could have blacked out.”
The chef claims the football pro then threw her onto a bed before exiting the room and calling her a “liar.” The woman claims the incident left her with redness on her chest, but offered no photo evidence of the injury.
An assistant later stepped in to negotiate the now-unemployed chef’s final payment — but only if the chef signed a non-disclosure agreement. The chef refused and filed a police report on Dec. 16 — saying the delay was due to fear, citing Diggs’ fame.
The chef also claims a woman, presumed to be Diggs’ girlfriend, messaged her and allegedly asked her to not escalate the matter any further. The woman in question was not named in the report. Diggs is currently dating rapper Cardi B.
Diggs did not respond to police inquiries during this process, leading to charges being filed on Tuesday. The 32-year-old athlete maintains his innocence.
“(The allegtions) are unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, and were never investigated — because they did not occur,” Diggs’ reps told TMZ. “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. Stefon looks forward to establishing the truth in a court of law.”