What To Do…If Anything

My little rage bait experiment yesterday was rudely interrupted by a very serious story about New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs. 

According to what has been alleged and the police report, which I have read and I recommend you do, Diggs and his personal chef had some sort of dispute over pay. Allegedly, that dispute then erupted into some kind of violence. The charges Diggs are felonious in nature and if found guilty, Diggs could face some very serious consequences.

Of course, these are just charges and allegations. Diggs has denied all of the allegations and we live in a country where someone accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time we have dealt with something like this, and won’t be the last. The sensationalism in the media, and immediate reactions that we now get on social media, always blow these things up and spark debate.

In cases like this, there are always two sides and no room is left for level headed thinking. On the one hand, the Patriot homers scream to the heavens that “due process” needs to happen. Flip to the other side where people, like my friend Beyond Average Mick, on Twitter is calling for Diggs to be suspended. Mick compared the Diggs situation to the Patrick Beverly situation at Barstool Sports. To me, this just seems like a hyperbolic reaction because Barstool president Dave Portnoy inaccurately characterized Mick as an anti-semite. 

As usual, most of us fall somewhere in the middle of these two sides. 

First of all, I want all parties to admit that there is an agenda on both sides here. Of course Patriots fans don’t want Diggs suspended. He’s their best receiver and gives them the best chance to win a Super Bowl. Just like how us non-Patriots fans would love for Diggs to be suspended. It gives our team a better chance to win. Except my guy Mick. His team seems to floating facedown in the Gulf. But that’s for another day. 

Now that everyone’s laid the cards on the table, let’s get into what should actually be done, if anything. 

As an American, I fully believe that people are innocent until proven guilty. That idea protects all of us from some random person making up wild accusations about us and getting us thrown in jail. Also as an American, I believe that private entities have the right to react to situations like this in the way they see fit. If the Patriots decided that Diggs wasn’t worth it, and just dumped him like last week’s trash, that’s fine. I’m sure there is some kind of personal conduct clause in his contract. If the team thinks he broke that, well that’s for the court to decide. But, they can cut him in the meantime.

Conversely, the Patriots as an organization may believe Diggs and want to stand by their player. This seems to be the path they’ve chosen, which in this country, is their right. Due to the “with us or against us” mentality of today’s culture, that process twists a critical thinking approach into a lack of empathy towards victims. A cynical approach to serious charges can be seen as cold and heartless at times. But, there have been plenty of examples of people making things up just to get people in trouble. I’m not saying that’s what happened in this case, but it has happened before. In my opinion, thinking critically and waiting for details to come out is the correct approach. 

Now let’s get to action and stop speaking in “what if’s” and what could be done. Here’s a solution that could make everyone happy and not really have an impact regardless of the outcome. 

The Patriots could come out before Sunday’s game and decide to bench Diggs, saying something like, “We’ll handle this internally.” No formal suspension, just a healthy scratch. This works two fold, you placate those screaming for action, and you protect your top receiver from hurting himself and further depleting a beat up receiver pool. This way, if it comes out that nothing happened and Diggs is totally vindicated, then no harm no foul.

However, if he is found guilty on all charges, then you dump him and you have the evidence to say that something was done in the moment based on the information you had. Makes a lot of sense, right?

That brings us to what I think will happen. Typically in cases like this, settlements get reached and things settle down. There are only 3 options when it comes to legal cases like this. The accused is found guilty, not guilty, or a bargain is reached between lawyers. Inevitably, when a settlement is reached in this case, the team gets out of any further discipline. They’ve done it already and there’s no need to discuss it further. 

It’s no risk, all reward for the team if they do this. I’ve been reading some of the statements the police made in the report. If they are true, Diggs is in some deep shit. And if the Patriots decide to do nothing about it, that’s a tough look. But if they cut him, and it turns out to be a load of hooey, then Diggs could easily sue them or go to another team. My middle ground idea protects everyone. 

The real shame is that there’s no room for this kind of thinking in today’s world. I’m sure I’ll get shouted at by both sides, and that’s okay. I’m just trying to provide a third option that takes both sides into account and provide a chance for a compromise. If you don’t like that, fine. Eventually, we’ll come to our senses again and realize the most extreme answer isn’t the right one.