Emotional but happy.
That’s the state of Stefon Diggs, the NFL wide receiver who was found not guilty May 5 in a case brought against him by his former chef who said he choked and slapped her in December 2025.
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Happy because a jury returned a not guilty verdict on both counts – felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault and battery – Diggs faced. Emotional because, according to Mitchell Shuster – a member of Diggs’ defense team – Diggs was falsely accused of committing the “serious” crime of domestic violence.
“Domestic violence is a very, very serious issue in this country and it’s disconcerting when people use it as a sword and manufacture claims in an attempt to extract money,” Shuster said. “I believe the jury saw through that today and we are very, very pleased with this result.”
Diggs’ defense team, Shuster said, wanted the trial to progress so that a verdict could be quickly reached. The jury deliberated for hardly 90 minutes and never saw any evidence from the prosecution aside from the word of the alleged victim. The defense called multiple witnesses who testified they spent time with Adams in the days following the alleged attack. All maintained that Adams never mentioned the attack and showed no sigs of physical abuse to her neck or face.
One of Diggs’ attorneys, Andrew Kettlewell, pointed the jury to deleted text messages from a series of messages Adams showed the police officer to whom she initially reported the incident.
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“There were a lot of missteps in this case,” said Shuster, referring to the prosecution, which relied entirely on the word of Mila Adams.
Adams told police on Dec. 16 that Diggs entered her bedroom and choked and slapped her in his home on Dec. 2, 2025. On the stand during the first day of the trial May 4, Adams said Diggs “smacked me with an open hand.” She added that she struggled to breathe as Diggs allegedly wrapped his arm around her neck and choked her. Diggs was charged with strangulation and assault and battery on Dec. 29; nearing the end of his 2025 season with the New England Patriots, who advanced to the Super Bowl. Diggs vehemently denied the accusation from the beginning.
There was never a consideration to settle, Shuster added.
“Stefon was not going to settle this case,” he said. “He was falsely accused and he wanted everyone to know that.
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“We were always cautiously optimistic that this would be the result.”
Having his day in court was important to Diggs, said Shuster, who was “thankful” the four-time Pro Bowl selection insisted on his day in court – and called out those who attempt to extort the famous.
“I’m thankful for someone like Stefon Diggs, who insisted that he would get his day in court so that his truth could be heard – and it was heard,” Shuster said. “No assault ever occurred. … People have to stop targeting professional athletes and trying to extract money. They have a target on their back and it’s hard enough doing what they do. And this has to stop. People should focus on real victims from domestic violence, and allegations like this do a tremendous disservice to those who are afflicted and impacted by causes like this. It’s been an honor to represent Stefon and could not be prouder of him that he insisted we see this through and the truth be told.”
Diggs has been impacted personally, but also professionally, Shuster said. The attorney said he expects Diggs to sign with a team “imminently,” as the Patriots released him in March.
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“People look at professional athletes like they don’t have feelings and they don’t have emotions and they don’t have cares. Well they do,” Shuster said. “And he does and he’s not shy about expressing that. Our hope is that this is now behind him, that he will get signed by a team. Any team that signs him will be lucky to have him. We are very pleased and happy that Stefon will continue on.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stefon Diggs was determined not to settle case with ex-chef. Here’s why
