New England Soccer Team Subdues Passenger

He stripped naked on Boston-LA flight
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 19, 2008 2:56 PM CDT
New England Soccer Team Subdues Passenger
Michael Burns, an exec for the New England Revolution, and team captain Steve Ralston, left rear, arrive in Los Angeles on Friday, July 18, 2008.    (Reed Saxon)

An American Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles was diverted to Oklahoma City on Friday after a passenger stripped nude and later tried to open an emergency exit door before being subdued by members of a professional soccer team and others, the FBI said. Members of the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer were among those who grabbed the passenger near an exit door, the AP reports.

Tie wraps were placed on the man, whose name was not immediately released. He was taken into custody in Oklahoma City and placed under psychiatric evaluation, Johnson said. Craig Tornberg, the soccer team's general manager, said he confronted the man as soon as he saw him emerge naked from one of the plane's restrooms. "I said he should get back into the bathroom and put on his clothes," Tornberg said. (More airplane stories.)

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