$69 million former Pro Bowl receiver apologizes to reporters for being an a-hole

Dan Guttenplan

$69 million former Pro Bowl receiver apologizes to reporters for being an a-hole image

New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs would like to start fresh with local reporters. Part of that process included an apology for being a "pain in the *ss."

“If somebody calls you an a-hole and then they start acting like one. . . . I won’t,” Diggs said, according to NBC Sports Boston. “That’s not me. So I want to apologize if I ever came across as an a-hole to anybody. But moving forward, I kind of want to get things off on the right foot.”

Diggs didn't speak with the local media during training camp or the preseason, as he rehabbed from an ACL injury that cut short his 2024 season with the Houston Texans. The Patriots signed him to a three-year, $69 million deal, and Diggs figured to take on a prominent leadership role on an inexperienced receiving corps.

NBC Sports Boston reported last month that Diggs was "becoming a bit of a pain in the posterior," after first-year coach Mike Vrabel appeared to grow tired of having to answer for Diggs' rehab updates. Diggs attempted to diffuse the situation yesterday with an apology to reporters.

“I’m not up here to rub anybody the wrong way or say anything for clickbait," Diggs said. "If I rubbed anybody the wrong way, I really want to apologize. Moving forward, obviously we have a media-to-player relationship [that I want to make] as professional as I can be.”

Diggs explained the reasoning for his boycott of local media during training camp.

“Obviously, I haven’t talked much in camp,” Diggs said, via Michael Hurley of NBC Sports Boston. “It’s nice to see everybody here. I appreciate y’all, appreciate your patience. I just try to take this time to be focused, get my mind right, get my body right, come into camp with the right mindset, physically and mentally, it’s always a thing in camp, so I just needed that time. So I appreciate y’all having patience with me.”

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Dan Guttenplan

Dan Guttenplan is a freelance writer with The Sporting News.