Ex-NFL star Everson Griffen’s ‘unruly behavior’ forced flight to turn around

A former NFL star had to be removed from a Delta Airlines flight after he allegedly caused a disturbance mid-trip on Wednesday. 

Ex-Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen was headed to Minneapolis from Chicago when the alleged incident took place and forced the plane to return to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, TMZ reported. 

The specifics of the incident are unknown, and it wasn’t immediately clear if Griffen was facing any legal ramifications.

A Delta spokesperson confirmed to The Post that a flight from O’Hare to Minneapolis/St. Paul returned to Chicago “to have an unruly passenger removed.” 

“Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior and will always work with law enforcement to that end,” the spokesperson said. “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel as safety and security comes before everything else at Delta.” 

Flight logs showed Delta flight 1902 departed O’Hare at 10:56 a.m. CDT and touched back down in Chicago a little more than an hour later at 12:09 p.m. 

The Chicago Department of Aviation, which oversees O’Hare, directed The Post back to Delta when asked for comment. 

Griffen, 37, posted to social media earlier in the day, expressing excitement about his trip in an Instagram Story video of him arriving at the airport, captioning it “We out Chiccago.”

The former NFL defensive end played over a decade in the league, spending 11 seasons with the Vikings and splitting the 2020 campaign between time with the Cowboys and Lions. 

Over the course of his 170-game career, he started 96 contests, recorded 88.5 sacks and made the Pro Bowl four times. 

Griffen was placed on the non-football injury/illness list in November 2021 related to mental health issues, several days after the Vikings played the Packers. 

It came after a standoff with police at his home that started after he had called 911 and told the dispatcher that someone had been inside the house and he needed help. 

He also posted, and later deleted, a video on Instagram of himself holding a gun and saying people were trying to kill him. 

Griffen later said he was “bipolar” in a post on Instagram. 

In May 2024, Griffen was arrested for DWI and possession of cocaine, and as part of a plea deal, he had his driver’s license revoked. He was also ordered to commit no alcohol-related or careless driving offenses.