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Stefon Diggs assault trial (live video): Closings expected after prosecution, defense rest
The prosecution and defense in the assault trial of former New England Patriots star wide receiver Stefon Diggs both rested their cases on Tuesday in Dedham District Court. playerbros.org
Jamila Adams, the personal chef who accused Diggs of assault and attempted strangulation, returned to the witness stand for questioning before the prosecution rested its case on the second day of the trial. Diggs’ attorneys then called several witnesses before resting.
Judge Jeanmarie Carroll announced a break until 2 p.m., when closing arguments are expected to commence, followed by jury instructions.
Watch Live: Trial of former Patriots star Stefon Diggs continues
Adams, Diggs’ former personal chef, was the first witness called by prosecutors on Monday. She remained under cross-examination by the defense on Tuesday morning, which continued challenging her credibility and version of events.
Defense attorneys pressed Jamila “Mila” Adams about money she said she was owed after working as a live-in chef. She testified she was paid about $2,000 a week and believed she had not been fully compensated after being sent home. They pointed to a $19,000 demand and said the amount increased over time, with her attorney later seeking $5.5 million.
When asked about the $5.5 million claim, Adams said, “I can’t speak on that,” and at other points told jurors, “I don’t understand the question,” and “I don’t know how to answer the question.”
Defense attorneys also questioned Adams about a public statement she issued Feb. 13 in which she said, “I have never sought money to settle this matter,” and about hiring a lawyer by mid-April. Adams said she retained an attorney for a workers’ compensation claim, saying she believed she had been injured on the job.
They challenged her accounting of what she was owed, presenting records of payments and suggesting she had sought compensation for weeks she did not work. Adams said she had been confused about the amount and “sent the incorrect amount,” maintaining she believed she was owed money.
Prosecutors pushed back on the defense’s financial-motive argument— Adams testified the dispute was about wages, not a settlement. She said her statement that she had “never sought money to settle this matter” referred to the criminal case and that she later retained an attorney for a workers’ compensation claim after she was injured on the job.
At times during her second day on the stand, Adams was instructed by the judge to answer questions directly and not include additional details beyond what was asked. Portions of her responses were struck from the record as nonresponsive, with jurors told to disregard them.
“This is not an opportunity for you to interject your own narrative,” Judge Carroll told her at one point, warning that continued nonresponsive answers could result in her testimony being stricken.
Diggs is accused of assaulting and attempting to strangle Adams inside his Dedham home in December. He has pleaded not guilty.
On the first day of testimony, Diggs walked quickly into court without speaking to reporters.
Under questioning from prosecutors, Adams became emotional as she described the alleged assault, saying Diggs began choking her. She testified that the incident at his Dedham home on Dec. 2, 2025, followed a heated exchange of text messages between the two over payments she said she was owed.
Defense attorneys have pushed back on Adams’ account, arguing the assault never happened. They pointed out that Adams did not take photos of any alleged bruising or marks and failed to disclose to police that she and Diggs were involved in what they described as an intimate relationship.
The defense also noted Adams was upset about being excluded from a trip to Miami and suggested that anger may have played a role in her allegations.
Boston attorney Elyse Hershon, a legal analyst, said the defense aggressively highlighted inconsistencies in Adams’ testimony.
“We have to look at why she would lie about this, and the defense is bringing out information,” Hershon said. “She deleted text messages before she went to the police and showed an angry exchange between her and Diggs. That doesn’t look good. So something that doesn’t look good is something the defense will use in their closing — to really say you can’t believe her, you can’t trust her, she lied, she just wanted money.”
The trial is expected to last another one to two days.
A jury was seated on Monday.
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Report: Pelicans narrow down coaching search to four, Trail Blazers may talk to 20 candidates
While the Orlando Magic are just starting their search for a new head coach after firing Jamahl Mosley, Portland and New Orleans are further along in their searches — but those two teams are in very different places.
The Pelicans have narrowed down their list to four candidates, reports Sam Amick at The Athletic.
New Orleans has been deliberating over finalists Darvin Ham (a Bucks associate head coach under Rivers), Steve Hetzel (Brooklyn assistant), Sean Sweeney (San Antonio associate head coach) and Rajon Rondo (a coaching associate with the Bucks). Mosley has long been believed to be a possible candidate if he became available, but it's unclear as of yet if he'll be added to the list.
Rondo is an interesting name. The four-time All-Star point guard has been out of the league for four seasons and is on the radar of a number of general managers, but is he ready for that leap? It has long been expected in league circles that the Magic's Mosley would move to the front of the line in New Orleans if Orlando moved on from him, which it did. Ham was a former head coach with the Lakers, and his name has come up as a possibility in Orlando’s coaching search.
While New Orleans is narrowing down the field, Portland continues to cast a very wide net, reports Amick.
As league sources said on Monday, the Trail Blazers have cast a net so wide that the list of candidates could be almost 20 coaches long and, in the end, will consist of names procured by both Dundon and general manager Joe Cronin. What's more, league sources say, there is no clear messaging as of yet about a possible timeline on the hiring.
While Tiago Splitter did a good job taking over a team a couple of days into the season (after the arrest of Chauncy Billups on alleged gambling charges) and leading the Trail Blazers to a surprise playoff berth, league sources told NBC Sports he does not appear to be a favorite of new owner Tom Dundon, so the door is wide open. Then there is the lingering money question: Rumors circulated that Dundon was trying to get a coach to take the job for $1.5 million or less — mid-major college coach money — the team has pushed back hard on that. Still, the chatter around the league is that Portland is trying to hire on the cheap, whatever that final number is. As Amick notes, it is thought that the least any coach in the league is making is at least $2 million, in Sacramento's Doug Christie (who is keeping his job).
It appears it could be a while before Portland has a coach.
Joe Burrow: Exciting to see Bengals' initiative to get better
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was nowhere near a football field on Monday, but his mind was still on the team's prospects.
Burrow attended the Met Gala in New York City and did an interview with Vanity Fair — Burrow wore a suit from Bode, which means we won't get a "The Bengal Wears Prada" headline — while getting ready for the festivities. Burrow was asked about his reaction to the recent trade for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence as well as earlier moves to add safety Bryan Cook, edge rusher Boye Mafe, defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and safety Kyle Dugger in free agency.
“I’m really excited about the moves we made this offseason,” Burrow said. “We need to get better, so it was exciting to see the initiative from everybody in the organization to realize that we’re in this exciting stage. We’re in our primes playing great football. Finding guys like Dexter and Bryan Cook and [Jacob] Bayer, to, you know, really solidify that defense so the young guys can also kind of rise up. We’re really going to try to achieve what we want to achieve.”
Bayer is a backup offensive lineman who signed to the practice squad last season, so it seems likely that Burrow was actually referring to another one of the defensive acquisitions and something got missed in translation.
Whatever the reference, it's a very different tone from Burrow than the deflated one he shared in some late-season press conferences last year. If that tone is still positive months from now, it will be a sign that the Bengals' offseason maneuvering worked out as hoped.