Patriots’ Mike Vrabel Speaks On Stefon Diggs, Christian Barmore Charges

The New England Patriots are dealing with some off-field issues this week.

Stefon Diggs is facing a felony criminal charge as a result of an alleged incident on Dec. 2, Boston 25 reported on Tuesday.

Christian Barmore is facing a domestic assault charge stemming from an alleged incident on Aug. 8, according to court documents out of Attleboro District Court obtained by WCVB 5 on Wednesday

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel answered questions regarding the ongoing legal situations surrounding the two players during his media availability that was broadcast on X on Wednesday.

NESN transcribed the session, with the below questions and answers relating directly to Diggs and Barmore:

Q: How disappointing is it having to deal with this type of distraction?

A: I would say not disappointing at all. These are allegations, like you mentioned in your question. It’s two things that we have to handle. Every day there are distractions, some smaller than others. I’m confident that we’ll focus on the Dolphins, and those two individuals that you mentioned (Diggs and Barmore) will be able to handle the ongoing legal process.

Q: Will there be any team discipline?

A: It’s an ongoing legal matter. These are allegations. We’ve made a statement, We’ve taken the allegations very seriously, and what comes of that — I think we’ll have another discussion. I don’t jump to any sort of conclusions right now and let the process take take its toll.

Q: Do you have any concern about the availability of both players?

A: (Barmore) is away with an illness today, so I would say that his availability for practice — he won’t be out there. No, I haven’t heard anything that would keep either player from the game.

Q: How do you keep your players focused on the Dolphins?

A: It’s no different than what we’ve done every single week.

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?

A: We always want to gather more information, but we’ve been aware of these allegations. It’s not like yesterday and today is the first that we’ve heard about them, and we’ve tried to do everything in accordance with 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?

A: I’m not really sure the timeline… like I said, these aren’t a surprise that today and yesterday this came out. (We found out) when they were able to make us aware from the court filings and some things like that. 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.

Q: Are you afraid of the type of distraction this might bring?

A: Afraid? No, not afraid. I’m 50-years old. Gonna be 51 I’m not afraid. I love coaching this football team, and I love the way that they come to work. I love the youth, I love the veterans, I love the leadership and I really have appreciated everyone’s growth throughout this entire process… I want the best for these guys on the field and off the field.

Q: The Patriots released a statement yesterday saying “We support Stefon.” What does that mean?

A: That everybody that we care about and that we have been close to for a while, that we support, and we do. We understand that there’s allegations, but we also want to support each and every player, and each and every coach, and each and every staff member.

Vrabel’s full press conference can be found here.