On a flight from Boston to Ireland, a former NFL linebacker urinated on an older woman, “emptying his entire bladder for approximately 20 seconds,” officials said Monday. The plane had to turn around because of the incident.
In East Boston District Court on Monday, Gosder Cherilus, 40, of Wakefield, Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty to disorderly conduct, disturbing a flight crew, and fighting arrest. He used to play offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions.
According to data from FlightAware, Delta Flight 154 left Boston Logan International Airport at 12:12 a.m. ET on Sunday, more than three and a half hours late. It then went back and arrived back in Boston at 2:33 a.m.
In court papers, it was said that Cherilus was unhappy with his seat assignment in 3D.
Cherilus walked up to a 78-year-old woman from Maine sitting in seat 4C while the plane was 36,000 feet above Halifax, Nova Scotia. He then “fully exposed his genitalia and began urinating on an elderly female, emptying his entire bladder for approximately 20 seconds,” according to court papers.
Court papers say that Cherilus, who is described as 6 feet 6 inches and 280 pounds, did something “egregious,” which made the whole flight “experience extreme shock, alarm, and fear for their safety.”
The documents say that witnesses tried to stop the fight by “grabbing his hands from his genitalia and demanding that he return to his seat.”
Court papers say Cherilus sat down next to a 68-year-old man from Utah in seat 3D and “began arguing over the seat” and “struck him with his right hand.” The action didn’t end until Cherilus went back to his 3D spot, “where he passed out,” according to records.
This was because of “an unruly passenger who urinated on another passenger on board,” according to a statement from the Massachusetts State Police.
Police from the state and the Border Patrol got on Flight 154 when it arrived at Terminal E and approached Cherilus, according to the state police.
“Troopers verbally commanded Cherilus to leave the plane, but he became irate and uncooperative,” they shared. “Eventually, Troopers escorted Cherilus to the jet bridge and placed him under arrest for Disorderly Conduct and Disturbing a Flight Crew.”
It was reported by Delta that Flight 154 had to go back to Logan “due to an unruly customer” who was “met by law enforcement.”
“Delta has zero tolerance for unlawful behavior and will cooperate with law enforcement to that end,” it said. “We’re sorry for the delay in their travel,” the company said.
When reporters asked Cherilus questions outside of court on Monday, he did not answer. He seemed to say on social media that his crazy behavior was because of a bad response to a sleep aid.
“The flight was unexpectedly delayed for approximately four hours,” he said. “In preparation for the expected 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.”
Cherilus was in the NFL for nine years. He played five with the Detroit Lions, three with the Indianapolis Colts, and two with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He began 116 of the 132 games he played in.
In 2007, Cherilus was named to the second team of all-Atlantic Coast Conference players for protecting quarterback Matt Ryan’s blind side. Ryan was named the conference Player of the Year and went on to play 15 seasons in the NFL.
Ryan was picked third overall in the 2008 draft, and Cherilus was picked seventeenth.
