College Footballer Jailed For Refusing to Pull Up Saggy Pants [Updated With Video From Aboard Aircraft]

Deshon Marman -- a 20-year-old University of New Mexico football player -- was arrested and hauled off a plane in San Francisco after flight crew members said he wouldn’t pull up his pants. The US Airways flight attendant said Deshon's pants were "below his buttocks, but above the knees, and his boxer shorts were showing." She asked him pull up his pants, he refused. She then asked him to leave the plane. He refused. The pilot ordered all passengers off the plane and after 15 minutes Deshon was taken into custody for trespassing, battery and resisting arrest....But it's his mother, Donna Doyle, who ought be ashamed of herself! In the several interviews she's given since her son's arrest, she's alleged Deshon is a victim of racial profiling. "He's a big tall light skinned black boy with dreadlocks. Gets on the plane with saggy pants right there you're stereotyped", she said. "He was attacked for three reasons: his clothing, his skin and his hair." What?! This has nothing to do with race. Had you thought him to respect authority or had he pulled up his pants when asked, he wouldn't be in jail and possibly lose his scholarship. Simple. US Airways is NOT 'Soul Plane'. (PS: Deshon had an outstanding warrant from Santa Clara, Calif. on a marijuana possession charge.)

Sidebar: US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder said the airline's dress code forbids indecent exposure or inappropriate attire.


Update: "I ain't do nothing to nobody, son! .. I know MY rights!" Those are the words from Deshon in this newly-released video of the confrontation with the pilot and a police officer. The video, obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle, does not show Deshon's repeated refusal pull up his pants or his subsequent removal from the aircraft, however.




Update, June 22: US Airways needs to enforce its dress-code policy across the board. Days before Deshon's arrest, a man wearing a woman’s bathing suit, thigh high stockings and high heels on a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Phoenix. Jill Tarlow tells CBS 5 San Francisco, many passengers complained about the man’s attire to the gate staff, but the man was allowed to fly without resistance. The airline says as long as someone is not showing parts of their anatomy, they are permitted to fly. Two things here: Maybe the flight crew was not offended by this cross-dressing man -- or, US Airways is a tad bit (or a lot) racist, as Deshon's mom alleged.