Stefon Diggs’ offseason took a sharply controversial turn, after a video surfaced of him partying on a boat during the Memorial Day weekend.
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Normally, nobody would’ve had a beef with that. Or even that he was surrounded by women — after all, he is a big football star. But what got tongues wagging was what he seemed to be doing in the video.
Diggs appeared to be distributing an unknown pink substance to them, which sparked an online uproar. He was accused of handing around Tusi, a party drug.
This raised some serious questions about whether the newly signed wide receiver should even be allowed to suit up for the New England Patriots, his new team.
The prospect of Stefon Diggs being cut without a single game played for the Patriots is truly shocking. Chad Johnson thinks so. However, his co-host on the Nightcap podcast Shannon Sharpe has a completely different take.
In the show’s latest episode, Sharpe wasted no time reminding viewers of the code of conduct expected from a player like Stefon Diggs when he lands in Foxborough.
“When you go to a place like New England, you know how you gotta move,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the offseason — you can’t move like that.”
The Broncos legend leaned into the Patriots’ reputation for discipline, one forged by Bill Belichick and now upheld, at least partially, by Mike Vrabel. “It’s the same system,” he argued. “This is what Mike Vrabel said — he wasn’t happy with the video either.”
Will Mike Vrabel cut Stefon Diggs some slack?
But Chad Johnson wasn’t buying the old-school rigidity. “Bill Belichick ain’t there no more,” he fired back. “Mike Vrabel doesn’t work with a hard hand the way Bill does. We talking about a players’ coach now. It’s a different ball game.”
Ocho even 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.”
The former Bengals WR’s most pointed defense of Stefon Diggs, however, came soon after: “Everybody doesn’t have to move like a goddamn robot. It’s the offseason. He’s on a boat.”
Simply put, Ocho feels this whole controversy has been blown out of proportion.
Unc, as expected, wasn’t convinced. “You want to have as few of distractions. Teams that have few distractions, those are the teams that normally win,” he argued. “Not always, but usually.”
Furthermore, Sharpe stressed that perception matters more than ever in today’s social media climate, even more so than during his own playing days. Chad Johnson countered again, challenging whether the Stefon Diggs controversy was even worth the noise.
“He’s the best receiver in New England. What do you mean ‘believe’? He is there best receiver on one leg,” shot back Ocho.
If the extremely unlikely does happen and the Patriots release Diggs, it would mark a stunning end to what was supposed to be a cornerstone move for rookie quarterback Drake Maye’s development.
Clearly, Stefon Diggs’ time in New England has started with a bang. It’s just not the kind the Patriots were hoping for.
