Former NFL player accused of urinating on fellow passenger on Dublin flight issues apology

A former NFL player was arrested on a Delta Air Lines flight from Boston to Dublin, Ireland, after he was accused of urinating on another passenger.

Delta Air Lines Flight 154 was heading to Dublin from Boston early Sunday when it was diverted and forced to return to Logan International Airport "because of an unruly passenger who urinated on another passenger on board," Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.

Police said troopers boarded the aircraft around 2 a.m. Sunday and commanded the player to leave the plane but "he became irate and uncooperative." Eventually, they escorted him to the jet bridge and arrested him.

The passenger was identified by police as Gosder Cherilus, 40, of Wakefield, Massachusetts. Cherilus appeared in court Monday and pleaded not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct, disturbing a flight crew and resisting arrest.

Ex-NFL player issues apology

Cherilus addressed the matter on social media, apologizing and attributing his behavior to a "sleeping medication" that he normally doesn't use.

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"The flight was unexpectedly delayed for approximately four hours," Cherilus wrote in a post on Instagram. "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."

According to data published on FlightAware, Delta Flight 154 left Logan at 12:12 a.m. ET Sunday, more than three and half hours after it was scheduled to take off, before taking a U-turn and landing in Boston at 2:33 a.m.

Other passengers, meanwhile, were put on another flight to Dublin on Sunday, a Delta spokesperson told USA TODAY on Monday.

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

Who is Gosder Cherilus?

Cherilus was an offensive tackle at Boston College from 2005 to 2007. He was drafted into the NFL in 2008 by the Detroit Lions. He played five seasons in Detroit, two with the Indianapolis Colts and two for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring in 2016.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.