Former NFL player arrested after allegedly hitting, then urinating on passenger during flight

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tackle Gosder Cherilus (78) walks of the field at halftime during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Oct. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Mark Tenally)

BOSTON -

A former NFL player accused of drunkenly hitting one man and urinating on another during a flight from Boston to Dublin has been arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, the Massachusetts State Police said Monday.

Gosder Cherilus, a first-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 2008 who also played for the Indianapolis Colts and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was arrested early Sunday after the Delta Air Lines flight returned to Logan International Airport.

Troopers ordered the 40-year-old from Wakefield, near Boston, to leave the plane but he “became irate and uncooperative,” police said. He was then arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and disturbing a flight crew.

Former NFL football player Gosder Cherilus stands Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, during his arraignment on charges including disorderly conduct, in East Boston Municipal Court, in Boston. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP)According to the police report, he appeared drunk when he boarded the plane, allegedly argued with the flight crew about his seat and an hour into the flight urinated on an elderly passenger. He then hit another passenger and took that passenger's seat before passing out, the report says.

The Boston Globe said Cherilus was arraigned Monday in East Boston District Court.

“It’s pretty egregious what you did, as alleged,” Judge Debra A. DelVecchio told Cherilus.

In a post Monday on the social platform X, Cherilus apologized to the passengers and flight crew, saying he had taken a sleeping medication that he doesn’t normally use and that this caused his bad behavior.

A phone number could not be found for Cherilus. The Globe reports that he and his attorney, Brian Sullivan, did not speak to reporters as they left the court.

In a statement Monday, Delta confirmed there had been an “unruly customer” on the flight and that the other passengers were later flown to Dublin. The airline did not say how long the flight was delayed.

“Delta has zero tolerance for unlawful behavior and will cooperate with law enforcement to that end," the company said in a statement. "We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel.”