Key Takeaways
- A judge denied Christopher Griffith's request to move Stefon Diggs' defamation case out of Prince George's County over concerns that Washington Commanders fans would favor Diggs.
- The judge said jury selection should screen out potential bias rather than assuming local fans would side with the NFL player.
- Diggs sued Griffith over sexual assault allegations involving a May 2023 encounter at his Maryland home; Griffith countersued, alleging unwanted sexual advances and an assault by Diggs' brother and two women.
Stefon Diggs' sexual assault accuser has lost his bid to move the eventual trial to a different venue due to concerns about fans of the Washington Commanders player being selected for the jury.
According to TMZ, Christopher Griffith, who has accused Diggs of sexual assault, requested to have the eventual trial moved from Prince George County court. He believed that the trial should play out in a different courtroom because of concerns regarding the NFL star's fans, since the Commanders play home games within the county.
The judge in the case disagreed with his suggestion that Diggs' fans would be an issue, and suggested that any Commanders fans on the jury wouldn't be inclined to be sympathetic to Diggs just because they support the team.
The judge ruled that jury selection would be the time to rule out any potential biases, not before Diggs' lawsuit makes it to trial. Diggs filed a lawsuit against Griffith in October, per TMZ, accusing the social media influencer of defamation.
Griffith alleged that Diggs sexually assaulted him at the NFL star's Rockville, Maryland, home in May 2023. Diggs acknowledged that he went to a charity basketball game with Griffith in Washington, D.C., but his assistant later asked Griffith to leave when they returned to his home.
TMZ reported that Griffith later filed a countersuit the following month, denying all the claims in Diggs' initial filing. He alleged that Diggs "exposed his penis" and began masturbating when they arrived at his home, and then attempted to kiss him. He also claimed that he was physically assaulted by Diggs' younger brother, Darez, and two women after the alleged incident.
