Stefon Diggs’ viral yacht video has finally made its way to the desks of the New England Patriots’ front office, causing fans and pundits alike to begin wondering if a release is in the near future for the veteran wide receiver. Among those who believe that Diggs is doomed to never see a single down with the Patriots is the franchise’s former quarterback and Boston sports talk radio host, Scott Zolak.
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In an attempt to verify as such, Zolak suggested that “it’s just not the boat, there’s some other things that I’ve heard,” before ultimately claiming that the idea of releasing Diggs is very much “on the table” for New England’s personnel.
However, during the most recent episode of the Nightcap podcast, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, a former wide receiver himself, insisted that Diggs’ behavior isn’t enough to warrant anything drastic. According to the former Cincinnati Bengal, “that’s just a whole bunch of nothing.”
“Belichick ain’t there no more. Mike Vrabel doesn’t work with a hard hand the way that Bill does. We’re talking about a player’s coach now. We got Mike in there, it’s a different ball game. I’m sure he doesn’t run that motherf**ker like a military school.”
Shannon Sharpe, however, wasted no time reminding viewers of the code of conduct expected from a player like Stefon Diggs when he lands in Foxborough.
While the Patriots certainly maintain a standard today, Ocho likened Belichick’s style to a military boot camp. “If anybody’s seen the movie Full Metal Jacket, that’s what it felt like,” he said. “Everybody was expendable. That’s the kind of ship Bill ran…Everybody doesn’t have to move like a goddamn robot. It’s the offseason. He’s on a boat.”
15 years ago, the actions of Diggs would have landed the receiver in hot water with the franchise. Nowadays, for better or worse, it’s just not viewed as being that big of a deal. While Ocho’s point hints at an overarching shift in societal norms, it also suggests that Diggs’ future in New England isn’t in any danger.
Considering that the team just signed him to a three-year, $69-million contract to be the primary target of Drake Maye, Johnson’s intuition will likely prove to be correct.
While Johnson steadily maintains that the content of the video is no big deal, his co-host, Sharpe, didn’t quite see it that way. In the eyes of the former Denver Bronco, the fact that the team’s head coach was forced to address the issue in front of the media is an indicator that the wide receiver may still find himself in trouble with the team after all.
After Vrabel made mention of their being some conversations that will remain, Sharpe was forced to ask, “If it was no big deal, do you believe the head coach would have said what he said?”
Nevertheless, Johnson insisted that he was simply forced to comment due to the amount of attention that fans gave the video. “You have to, because that’s the era we’re in. We’re in a social media era.”
The fact that the video even exists shows a lack of judgment on Diggs’ behalf. To Sharpe’s credit, perhaps a call for decorum is justified.
Nevertheless, in a social media era, as Johnson points out, it’s hard to restrict what goes online once you’ve achieved a certain amount of fame. Simply put, if you’re going to party like a celebrity, make sure the phones are put away.
