NFL player sues United Airlines, claims woman sexually assaulted him on flight

LOS ANGELES — An unidentified National Football League player filed suit Monday against United Airlines, alleging that he was sexually harassed and assaulted by a female passenger and that the airline failed to address his complaints properly, multiple media outlets reported.

The civil suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, focuses on the events of a Feb. 10 flight from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, and seeks unspecified damages from the airline, ESPN reported.

According to the lawsuit, the player and another unidentified male passenger in the same row complained four separate times to flight attendants that a middle-aged woman was making “unwanted sexual advances” before she was moved to a different seat, the sports network reported.

The player is identified in the suit as John Doe 1 and a New Jersey resident.

The suit also contends that United employees initially failed to intervene; that the woman became belligerent; and that she became especially confrontational over a face mask worn by the player, The New York Times reported.

“While touching John Doe 1’s face, assailant grabbed John Doe 1’s penis and ripped off his face mask,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit also alleges that United’s “failure to have or enforce adequate policies and procedures for the prevention of and response to in-flight sexual assaults is a breach of its duty to protect and care for its passengers,” ESPN reported.

Cox Media Group