Professional athletes jeopardizing their careers and bank accounts by committing unnecessary crimes is an unfortunate cliché that’s seemingly far too common in the modern era. In the past 24 hours, two separate players for the New England Patriots, WR Stefon Diggs and DT Christian Barmore, have been placed under investigation for misdemeanor assault and battery charges, while the former is also facing a felony charge for strangulation or suffocation.
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For Diggs, a conviction could mean a five-year prison sentence, and according to the Patriots’ former QB1, Cam Newton, his actions, in addition to the pending consequences, are exactly why “you gotta have buffers, bro.”
“Everybody always asks, ‘Bruh, why don’t you give your phone number away?’ Bruh, I be protecting my peace, man,” Cam said, adding that, “I don’t want people to get too comfortable with me, just texting me at all times. I’m the guy who really will communicate with a person for years on Instagram.”
He went on to detail how an assistant could be of some help. “I don’t even operate in certain ways, but this is why you should have an assistant or any type of buffer personnel. Like, why are you talking to the chef?” he concluded, as Diggs could face a jail sentence of up to five years if the allegations are found true.
In the eyes of Newton, there’s just simply no need for players like Diggs to stoop to this low a level. Simply put, “the risk that can come from” these types of confrontations is nowhere near worth whatever you may be hoping to achieve.
“Any noise is bad noise,” the former 2015 MVP exclaimed, and given the fact that he was forced to comment on the incident right as he’s trying to cap off his monumental debut with the Patriots, the team’s head coach, Mike Vrabel, probably feels inclined to agree right now. Although he did maintain that he is not “disappointed at all” on account of “these just being allegations.”
“There are things that we have to handle, and every day there are distractions. Some are smaller than others, and I’m confident that we’ll focus on the Dolphins and those two individuals will be able to handle the ongoing legal process,” he said.
Vrabel also downplayed the impact of these allegations on his team. “These are allegations, we’ve made a statement, we’ve taken the allegations very seriously, and what comes of that, we’ll have another discussion, but I don’t think we have to jump to any sort of conclusion right now and let the process take its toll,” the HC added.
Vrabel also mentioned that Barmore was away from the facility due to an illness, but he ultimately suggested that he isn’t aware of anything that could hinder the overall availability of either Barmore or Diggs for Week 18. That could change if the NFL decided to issue a ruling in the days leading up to the game. But the league will likely wait until the bulk of the legal proceedings have ended before handing anything down.
