Former NFL player Gosder Cherilus was arrested at Logan International Airport after allegedly urinating on an elderly passenger and hitting another on an overnight flight from Boston to Dublin over the weekend.
According to a Massachusetts State Police report, the 40-year-old—a first-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 2008—appeared to be intoxicated upon boarding the transatlantic Delta Air Lines flight, fought with the flight crew about his seat and later urinated on a passenger before hitting another and taking their seat.
Cherilus allegedly passed out and the flight returned to Boston where he "became irate and uncooperative" when asked to leave the plane. He was eventually arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and disturbing a flight crew.
The rest of the passengers and crew ultimately continued to Dublin.
"Delta has zero tolerance for unlawful behavior and will cooperate with law enforcement to that end. We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel," Delta said in a statement.
In an Instagram post, Cherilus apologized for the incident, claiming he took a sleep aid after learning the flight would be delayed four hours and not take off until after 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
"In preparation for the unexpected overnight flight, I took a sleeping medication that I don't normally use, which resulted in behavior that is not representative of my character."
Cherilus was arraigned Monday in East Boston District Court.
Sunday's incident comes one month after a New Jersey man was arrested after consuming multiple marijuana edibles prior to assaulting flight crew and attempting to open the cabin doors on an American Airlines flight.
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