A soccer coach heading to Florida is accused of causing mile-high mayhem over masks.
A professional soccer player’s out-of-control behavior on a Delta Air Lines flight from Dublin to New York City earlier this month is now coming to light.
According to court documents viewed by the Miami Herald and first obtained by The Daily Beast, Shane McInerney started misbehaving almost right after takeoff on the Jan. 7 trans-Atlantic journey. The 29-year-old Irishman, who used to play with the Boca Raton Football Club, was reportedly on his way to a job at a sports academy in Daytona Beach, a law enforcement official told The Daily Mail. The complaint says that problems arose almost immediately because McInerney did not want to wear a mask, a requirement on all flights because of the ongoing pandemic.
“The defendant repeatedly refused to wear a face mask despite being asked dozens of times by flight crew personnel,” says the complaint filed in the Eastern District in New York.
Beside the mask issue, the private soccer coach also caused problems for other people on board, kicking the seat in front of him and throwing an empty can at someone’s head, court documents say. He also reportedly walked over from his economy seat to the first-class section and complained about the food and service. McInerney’s behavior became so boisterous that about two hours into the flight, the captain went to go speak with him. The defendant took off the pilot’s cap, put his fists in his face and said, “Don’t touch me.” In the process of being escorted back to his seat, the passenger then pulled down his pants and mooned people around him, court documents say.
The passenger did “intentionally assault and intimidate a flight crew member of the aircraft, interfere with the performed the duties of the member unless the ability of the member to perform those duties,” according to the complaint. The FBI was alerted to the mayhem, and McInerney was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The athlete made an appearance in Brooklyn federal court on Jan. 14, charged with interference with flight crew members. He was released on $20,000 bond. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
“Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior at our airports and aboard our aircraft, as nothing is more important than the safety of our people and our customers,” a Delta spokesman said in a statement. It is unclear if the man is banned from future travel with the carrier. The coach’s Instagram has been deleted, but The Daily Mail took a screenshot of him enjoying time in Daytona Beach on Jan. 16. In June, he tweeted that he’d been accepted to Peru State College in Nebraska on an American football scholarship: “Can’t wait for this next chapter.” McInerney did not respond to the Miami Herald’s request for comment.
