Story by
Everything Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said about Stefon Diggs, Christian Barmore
- Story by
- Everything Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said about Stefon Diggs, Christian Barmore
FOXBOROUGH — After the news broke that two of his Patriots players are facing criminal charges, Mike Vrabel addressed the media for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.
Stefon Diggs is being charged with felony strangulation for an alleged altercation with a personal chef, as well as assault and battery. Christian Barmore is facing a domestic violence charge for assault and battery on a family/household member dating back to August.
Advertisement
On Wednesday, Vrabel said he expected both players to be available against the Dolphins this weekend and was content to let the legal process play out. Diggs is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 23, while Barmore’s arraignment date is set for Feb. 3.
Here’s everything Vrabel said about the two players:
Q: How disappointing is it to have to deal with this type of distraction involving two players with alleged cases against them right now?
Vrabel: “Well, I would say not disappointing at all. These are allegations, like you mentioned in your question. It’s things that we have to handle, and every day there’s distractions, some are smaller than others. I’m confident that we’ll focus on the Dolphins and those two individuals that you mentioned will be able to handle the ongoing legal process.”
Advertisement
Q: Outside the locker room. Do you handle it – will there be any team discipline as far as you’re concerned?
Vrabel: “Again, there’s ongoing legal matters. And these, again, are allegations. We’ve made a statement, we’ve taken the allegations very seriously, and what comes of that, I think then we’ll have another discussion. But I don’t think we have to jump to any sort of conclusions right now and let the process take its toll.”
Q: Any concerns about the availability of both players?
Vrabel: “Christian’s away with an illness today, and so I would say that his availability for practice – he won’t be out there. But no, I haven’t heard anything that would keep either player from the game."
Advertisement
Q: Do you feel as though the team has a comprehensive understanding of both incidents, or are you still in the process of gathering more information?
Vrabel: “Well, we always want to gather more information, but these are – we’ve been aware of these allegations. Yesterday and today aren’t the first that we’ve heard about them. Trying to do everything in accordance with the league policy and making sure that we’re in compliance with the league."
Q: I thought the team statement said that you guys were aware in August about the Barmore allegations. Is that not true?
Vrabel: “Again, I’m not really sure of the timeline. When we’ve been able to find out what the information was, these are things that – like I said, these aren’t a surprise that today and yesterday, this came out."
Advertisement
Q: When were you made aware of the Diggs incident?
Vrabel: “When they were able to make us aware from the court filings and some things like that. So, those are all things, again, we’ll handle with respect to the court, the process and the ongoing. So, we just have to be – and again, I want to be respectful of what you guys have to do, but we also have to be respectful of what our players are trying to do and what we’re trying to do as a coaching staff. We started this thing in Miami, didn’t do a very good job against Vegas, and we were able to start it against Miami. We’re hoping to do everything that we can to finish the regular season really strong against Miami."
Q: Mike, in the team statement that was released yesterday about the Diggs situation, it says, “We support Stefon.” What does that mean?
Vrabel: “That everybody that we care about and that we have been close to for a while, we support. And we do. We understand that there’s allegations, but we also want to support each and every player, each and every coach and each and every staff member.”
Advertisement
Q: Mike, in the police report attached to the charge against Christian, his accuser describes being thrown to the ground in front of their child and then calling a car service that the team provides, taking her to Delaware. Then she provides photos of bruises after being thrown to the ground to police. Those photos were added to the report. In the statement, you said you guys were aware at the time of the incident in August. Since then, what has made you comfortable to continue putting Christian out of practice and in games?
Vrabel: “Again, allegations, and we want to make sure that the court – that those ongoing court proceedings – and once those are satisfied, then we’ll come to whatever conclusion and whatever decision that we have to make. We’ll also stay committed to our preparation here with Miami, making sure that everybody’s ready to go, whoever plays on Sunday."
Q: Has the NFL told you if –
Vrabel: “The NFL hasn’t told me anything, so I don’t want to waste your time on that. I haven’t had a call with the NFL.”
Advertisement
Q: Mike, in the statement released about Stefon Diggs , it was mentioned that he has categorically denied those allegations to the team. No such mention was in the statement regarding Christian. Has he denied the incident as described in the police report?
Vrabel: “Yeah, I’m not going to focus on any of the conversations that we’ve had with the players or I’ve had with the players. And so, I’m going to let the ongoing court process take its course, and I’m going to focus on the Dolphin, focus on coaching this football team and the guys that are healthy enough to be out there.”
Q: Does the team routinely offer car service to players, loved ones, family members, wives or girlfriends?
Vrabel: “I don’t know that that is the case. Since 2001, probably, I’ve had the same company, when I go to the airport, take me, whether I was a player or a coach here. So, I don’t know, I can’t comment on that. I apologize.”
Advertisement
More Patriots Content
Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
