Boston — A Detroit Lions player is accused of urinating on a passenger during a flight from Boston Logan, according to Massachusetts State Police.
Former Lions offensive lineman and first-round draft pick Gosder Cherilus, 40, was arrested over the weekend following the alleged incident aboard a Delta flight to Ireland.
Cherilus was selected by the Lions with the number 17 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft out of Boston College. He played five seasons for the Lions and appeared in 75 games, 71 of which were starts.
After his arraignment on Monday, he attributed his behavior to a “sleeping pill.”
Delta called state police for assistance around 2 a.m. Sunday after the Dublin-bound flight returned to Logan “because an unruly passenger urinated on another passenger on board,” state police said.
Upon arrival at Terminal E, State Police Troop F and Customs and Border Protection agents boarded the aircraft and identified the suspect as Cherilus.
“The troopers verbally ordered Cherilus to exit the aircraft, but he reacted angrily and refused to cooperate,” state police said. “Eventually, the troopers escorted Cherilus to the jetway and arrested him for disturbing the peace and disturbing the flight crew.”
He was also charged with resisting arrest.
“Cherilus refused verbal instructions and was belligerent at the time. He resisted verbal instructions to exit the aircraft,” the police report states. “Cherilus was informed that he would be handcuffed due to the in-flight incident. Cherilus resisted.”
“He clenched his fists and refused to put his hands behind his back,” the report states. “Because of his size, Sergeant Papkee and I placed two pairs of handcuffs on him to restrain him.”
The police report states his height as 2.00 m.
Cherilus was arraigned in East Boston District Court and held on $2,500 bail. The Suffolk District Attorney’s Office asked that bail be maintained for the case.
“Commonwealth also requested conditions that the defendant remain drug and alcohol free, supervise himself and stay away from Logan Airport except for legitimate travel,” the prosecutor added. “The court accepted these conditions and ordered the witnesses to stay away.”
The next date in this case is October 11, the preliminary hearing.
Cherilus issued a statement on social media following his indictment.
“The flight was unexpectedly delayed by about four hours and did not take off until after 00:30,” he posted.
“In preparation for the unexpected night flight, I took a sleeping pill that I do not normally take, which resulted in behavior that is not in keeping with my character, and I would like to apologize to the passengers and flight crew,” he explained.
After playing at Boston College in the mid-2000s and setting a school record with 51 consecutive starts, Cherilus was selected in the first round of the 2008 draft and played eight seasons in the league, including with the Lions, Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
