NFL player sues United Airlines over alleged sexual assault on flight

The civil suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday, seeks unspecified statutory and punitive damages from the airline.

According to the lawsuit, the player and another male passenger seated in the same row made multiple complaints to flight attendants that the woman also seated in the row was making “unwanted sexual advances” before she was moved to a different seat.

The two men, both listed as “John Doe,” are suing United, the lawsuit says, because the airline refused to give them the name of the woman, the flight attendants and potential witnesses, and because the airline failed to follow policies to respond to sexual harassment and assault on the February 10 overnight flight from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey.

The woman’s inappropriate behaviour began with badgering the player about his decision to wear a face mask in light of increasing concerns about Covid-19.