NFL player Stefon Diggs found not guilty of attacking personal chef

American footballer Stefon Diggs has been found not guilty of attacking his personal chef.

The 32-year-old wide receiver, who most recently played for NFL team the New England Patriots, had denied charges of felony strangulation and a lower-level assault charge following an alleged incident on 2 December last year.

A jury in Massachusetts took two days to reach Tuesday's verdict.

Diggs's lawyer said afterwards that the player had been a subject of "opportunistic targeting".

Diggs had been accused by his former personal live-in chef, Jamila Adams, of slapping and choking her during an argument.

The athlete denied from the outset that any such attack had taken place, and his defence team sought to cast the allegations as the result of a non-violent dispute about money.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that the pair had been in a relationship which led to conflict.

A lawyer for Adams ultimately conceded that his client had not been "a perfect witness", though urged jurors not to dismiss her testimony, according to comments reported by the AP news agency.

The 32-year-old wide receiver most recently played for the New England Patriots [Getty Images]

In a statement provided to US media outlets after the verdict, Diggs's lawyer, Mitch Schuster, said "we were eager for the facts to come to light through the legal process".

Schuster added: "Professional athletes have a target on their back. When someone sees a uniform and a contract, they see leverage; they see a settlement." The case "represents exactly the kind of opportunistic targeting that players can face the moment they step off the field."

Attention now turns to whether Diggs, who is a free agent, will be picked up by another team. He was released by the Patriots in March, having been signed a year previously in a deal worth $69m ($51m).

ESPN reports that NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league had been "monitoring all developments in the matter which remains under review of the personal conduct policy".