In a courtroom verdict that closed a high-profile legal case tied to a former National Football League star, former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been fully cleared of all assault charges brought by his live-in personal chef, Jamila Adams. The jury’s ruling came Tuesday at a courthouse in Massachusetts, where the 32-year-old athlete was found not guilty on two counts: a felony charge of strangulation and suffocation, and a lesser misdemeanor count of assault and battery. Diggs, dressed in a muted gray suit and formal tie, displayed a calm demeanor as the verdict was read aloud, responding with a quiet nod to the jury’s decision.
The legal dispute traces back to December of last year, when Adams filed a police report alleging the assault grew out of an ongoing disagreement over compensation. According to official police documentation, Adams claimed Diggs struck her in the face before attempting to choke her by wrapping the crook of his elbow around her neck. She also confirmed during proceedings that the pair had previously shared a consensual sexual relationship. Diggs entered his initial not guilty plea in a February court appearance, which came just five days after he took the field with the Patriots in this year’s Super Bowl, thrusting the legal matter into the national spotlight.
Throughout the trial, Diggs’s defense team rejected all allegations of misconduct outright, arguing that no assault ever occurred. They drew the jury’s attention to alleged financial demands that Adams’s legal representatives made just before the trial was set to begin, framing the accusations as an attempt to extract improper payment from the high-profile athlete. After two full days of witness testimony and legal argument, the jury retired for deliberations that lasted roughly 90 minutes before returning the unanimous not guilty verdict, as reported by local Massachusetts media outlets.
Diggs, who was released by the New England Patriots earlier this year, is currently a free agent on the NFL market. Off the field, he has been the subject of celebrity gossip for his relationship with renowned rapper Cardi B. The pair welcomed their first child together in November 2023, though multiple entertainment outlets have confirmed the couple split shortly after the birth.