Stefon Diggs, Christian Barmore address media for first time since legal issues emerge

The New England Patriots made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week, as two players are facing assault charges. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs is facing strangulation and other criminal charges over a dispute with his former private chef, while Christian Barmore is facing domestic assault and battery charge against a woman he was in a relationship with. Both players spoke Friday for the first time since the allegations were made public. Neither player would get into details about the charges they are facing. Before reporters could ask questions, Diggs opened his media availability by acknowledging the situation, but making clear he would only answer questions related to football. "I usually get to talk to y'all on Wednesday, but you know, obviously it's a different time, a very emotional time," said Diggs. "I'm taken back by some things that's been going on, but I want to be here to say sorry I wasn't available for those couple of days. "Dealing with everything, it's definitely an open case so I can't even say anything about it," he added. Diggs said he's "locked in" for week 18 and was asked how the team guards against distractions. "We all deal with life stuff, family stuff ... You band together. You lean on your brothers, you lean on your people that you spend the most time with. I've been dealing with (expletive) my whole life. Nothing new to me, I just got to roll with the punches and try to stay as positive as I can." While Diggs went on to discuss Sunday's regular-season finale, Barmore fielded questions for just over one minute. Nearly all were related to the assault charges, and he had a variation of the same answer for each question. Christian Barmore (WJAR) Reporter question: "Would you like a chance to deny what you're accused of?" "I'm focused on Miami, playing football," said Barmore. Reporter question: "What's your version of events that day?" "Focused on Miami. Playing football," said Barmore. Reporter question: "What sort of conversations have you had with your teammates about what's going on?" "We're focused on Miami and to play football," said Barmore.