Former NFL offensive lineman Gosder Cherilus is accused of urinating on a 78-year-old woman during a Delta Air Lines flight from Boston to Dublin, Ireland, this past weekend, authorities said.
Massachusetts State Police said they were dispatched to Logan International Airport in Boston around 2 a.m. Sunday after Delta flight 154 returned to the airport. Police said they ordered Cherilus to exit the plane, but he became “irate and uncooperative. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, disturbing a flight crew and resisting arrest.
Cherilus, 40, pleaded not guilty to all three charges during his arraignment in East Boston District Court on Monday. He was released on $2,500 bail.
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Cherilus appeared drunk when he boarded the plane, according to the police report, and was allegedly unhappy with his seat assignment, according to court documents. During the flight, the nine-year NFL veteran approached a woman in another seat and began urinating on her.
“I glanced up at him and thought, at first, he was just going to expose himself,” Connee Bush told NBC10 Boston. “And then he … started to urinate. He fully emptied his bladder on me.”
Cherilus then hit another passenger before taking that passenger’s seat and passing out, the police report says, according to AP.
Cherilus on Monday issued a statement on social media apologizing for his actions and blaming them on a new sleep medication.
“I’d like to address the media reports about me that surfaced today regarding a situation that occurred onboard a flight to Ireland this past weekend,” Cherilus wrote in a post to X. “The flight was unexpectedly delayed for approximately four hours, and it did not take off until after 12:30AM. 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, and I would like to apologize to the passengers and flight crew.”
Delta Air Lines also issued a statement, saying the company 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 added.
Cherilus, a former collegiate standout at Boston College, was a first round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He played five seasons in Detroit from 2008 to 2012 before playing two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts (2013-14) and two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2015-16).
