from Mateusz Maszczynski of Paddle Your Own Kanoo,

A former professional NHL ice hockey player has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court claiming an “out-of-control” flight attendant subjected him to an unprovoked battery before throwing him off a recent flight from Kansas City to Phoenix. Jean-Francois Jomphe, 48, of Ladera Ranch, California is claiming as much as $100,000 in damages against American Airlines for battery and emotional distress.

In the late 1990s, Jomphe played for the NHL’s Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Phoenix Coyotes, as well as the Montreal Canadiens before finishing his hockey-playing career playing in various minor leagues. Now retired, Jomphe is an “established businessman” and has corporate headquarters based in Phoenix.

On July 22, 2021, Jomphe was traveling to Phoenix on business as a passenger on American Airlines flight AA2005 from Kansas City. Sat at a bulkhead, Jomphe says he rested his foot on the bulkhead partition because he is recovering from recent leg surgery and needed to elevate his leg.

As a frequent flyer who always sits in the same seat, he says he has rested his leg on the bulkhead without incident on a weekly basis. In fact, Jomphe claims he has flown with American Airlines around 66 times in 2021 alone and has never had problems resting his feet on the bulkhead wall.

But while the plane was still at the gate, Jomphe says he was subjected to an “unprovoked battery” when a flight attendant hit him “very hard” on the left shoulder and told him to remove his feet from the bulkhead.

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