Jets receiver Holmes involved in incident on flight
Despite his history of indiscretions, Santonio Holmes says he can help the Jets be Super Bowl contenders. (File photo, 2009) Credit: AP
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Santonio Holmes found himself in the headlines Friday after a Pittsburgh television station reported he was removed from an inbound flight to the Steel City from Newark, N.J. Thursday night for being a "disruptive passenger." The report also said that the Jets wide receiver was escorted off the plane by police, which turned out to be false.
It turned out Holmes failed to turn his iPod off in a timely fashion when a flight attendant asked him to do so as the plane was preparing to land. He was met by Allegheny (Pa.) County police at Gate 77 once the flight landed around 9 p.m., and was advised that all instructions from flight crew members must be adhered to.
According to an incident report, Holmes said he understood and was allowed to leave around 9:15 p.m. He was not charged.
Rex Ryan thought the whole thing was being "blown out of proportion," though he did say Holmes didn't make things easy on himself. "OK, let's face it," Ryan said. "He should've turned off his iPod, OK? That's what he should do. He should do that."
Holmes, who flew to Las Vegas Friday to attend Saturday's Sugar Shane Mosley-Floyd Meaweather Jr. bout, reached out to his fans on his Twitter page Friday afternoon. "Thanks for the support," he wrote. "But some people just want to make their name blow up! Well congratulations!"
Given Holmes' off-the-field issues, some weren't giving him the benefit of the doubt initially. He's been suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league's substance abuse policy and is facing a lawsuit in Florida from a woman who claims he threw a glass at her at an Orlando night club, cutting her above the eye.
Holmes was arrested in 2008 for possession of marijuana and was involved in a domestic violence incident in 2006, though both charges were later dismissed. He's going to be under a huge microscope in New York and found that out Friday.
"Things have happened to me that I don't think you appreciate until you're here," Ryan said. "Maybe this will open his eyes up to that a little bit. We'll see."
