Ex-NFL Player Apologizes After Incident on Dublin Flight
A former NFL athlete was taken into custody on a Delta Air Lines flight traveling from Boston to Dublin, Ireland, after he allegedly urinated on another passenger.
Delta Flight 154 was en route to Dublin early Sunday morning when it had to be redirected back to Logan International Airport “due to an unruly passenger who urinated on another passenger onboard,” stated the Massachusetts State Police.
Officers boarded the plane around 2 a.m. and instructed the player to exit, but “he reacted angrily and was uncooperative.” Eventually, they escorted him off the jet bridge and detained him.
The passenger was identified by authorities as Gosder Cherilus, 40, from Wakefield, Massachusetts. Cherilus appeared in court on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges including disorderly conduct, interfering with the flight crew, and resisting arrest.
Cherilus Issues Public Apology
Cherilus took to social media to express his regrets, stating that a “sleeping medication” he doesn’t usually take affected his actions.
“The flight faced an unexpected four-hour delay,” Cherilus wrote in an Instagram post. “To prepare for the overnight flight, I took a sleeping medication that I don’t typically use, leading to behavior that does not reflect who I truly am. I sincerely apologize to both the passengers and the flight crew.”
According to FlightAware, Delta Flight 154 departed Logan at 12:12 a.m. ET on Sunday, more than three and a half hours late, before making a U-turn and landing back in Boston at 2:33 a.m.
Meanwhile, other passengers were accommodated on a different flight to Dublin, a Delta representative informed YSL News on Monday.
“Delta maintains a strict policy against unlawful behavior and will work closely with law enforcement in such situations,” stated the spokesperson. “We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers.”
Background on Gosder Cherilus
Cherilus was an offensive tackle at Boston College from 2005 to 2007 before being drafted into the NFL in 2008 by the Detroit Lions. He played five seasons with the Lions and later spent two seasons each with the Indianapolis Colts and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, retiring in 2016.