Patriots Release Brief Statement Following Patrick Chung Cocaine Indictment

The New England Patriots were really happy to have Patrick Chung back on the field after his injury, but it looks like their safety got involved in a legal issue.

The Patriots released the following statement Thursday afternoon: “We are aware of the reports regarding Patrick Chung. We will not be commenting while his judicial proceedings take place.”

The player wasn’t arrested, and he was indicted on Aug. 8 by a Belknap County grand jury. Laconia Daily Sun was the first to report the news. The safety’s indictment alleged that he “did possess or have under his control a quantity of the controlled substance cocaine” on June 25 in Meredith, N.H., which is actually his house.

Jim Murray of radio station 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston tweeted that, per a source, “Patrick Chung’s home in Meredith had an alarm tripped for a B&E. Police show up to check on the home, have probable cause to enter the home, and ultimately end up finding cocaine, leading to the investigation and indictment.”

This is really sad, because Chung was really excited about the upcoming season. He loves the game, and now may get a prison sentence.

“I just like to play ball,” Chung told The Athletic’s Jeff Howe. “It’s a mentality I’ve always grown up with. If I can walk, I can play. That’s just how I’ve always been. It’s how I’m always going to be.” 

His teammates know this, and they supported Chung throughout his recovery.

“You can’t really name a tougher guy than Chung,” linebacker Dont’a Hightower said. “He plays through a lot. He’s really a utility tool for our defense. He really sets the bar for reps and getting after shit. He doesn’t go slow on anything. Even when he probably shouldn’t have been trying to work out and do extra with that rehab, but he’s always after it. I have the utmost respect for him. If he’s not the toughest, he’s in the top two or three I’ve played with.”

Even head coach Bill Belichick had good words for his safety.

“He has a lot of skills. I mean, we recognized it when we had him the first time when we drafted him. We took the guy in the second round, but it just – for a combination of reasons – I’d say a big part of it [being] mistakes that I personally made. It didn’t work out the way that we hoped it would, but we got it right the second time.

“I think we’ve been able to utilize him. I wish we had been able to do that when we initially got him, but it didn’t work out that way. Like I said, I think we finally got it right.”