45°
Simple assault charges against Brendan Langley were dropped after authorities determined that he'd used reasonable force during a May incident that went viral, his lawyer told TMZ Sports.
"We are grateful for the Court’s decision which puts an end to this ordeal that began nearly two months ago when Mr. Langley was assaulted then wrongfully arrested and charged for exercising his rights under the law," attorney Halim Dhanidina reportedly said.
Drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2017, Langley had just joined the Calgary Stampeders, who immediately suspended him. There was no immediate word from the Canadian football team Wednesday on his status.
United Airlines said it fired the unidentified trouble-maker -- who worked for a subsidiary contractor -- soon after what quickly became a viral incident.
Langley said he was simply defending himself after at first taking verbal abuse and then getting smacked when he wasn’t looking.
A video posted to Twitter shows the pair at first slapping one another before fists start flying on May 19.
The worker taunts Langley, then takes a fighting stance, urging the athlete to "c'mon."
The tough guy ducks a couple of swings before one knocks him back into a cart that had been wheeled onto the baggage scale.
"Stop! Please stop!" a woman shouts.
The worker comes back at Langley, only to take two more punches and a push. But he bounces right back.
Langley turns to say something to a bystander when the worker slaps him in the face.
"You saw that sh*t?" he shouts to the bystander.
Langley then throws a series of punches that sends the worker through the scale and onto his back between the counter and the baggage carousel.
Bleeding from above the eye, the worker staggers to his feet -- then marches right back toward the backpedaling wide receiver.
"He wants more? He wants more!" Langley shouts to the bystanders.
"You want more?" he asks the worker. "You want more?"
Other workers then step in.
Unconfirmed reports were that the confrontation began when the employee tried stopping the passenger from using a wheelchair instead of luggage carts to move his bags.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Lancaster and receive free news updates.
