Man who went viral for groping flight attendants won award from college frat for being a 'perfect role model': report

On Tuesday, The New York Timesreported that Maxwell Berry, the airline passenger who went viral after allegedly groping female flight attendants on his flight to Florida and shouting "You guys f*cking suck! My parents are worth $2 million!" previously received an award as a "perfect role model" from his fraternity at Ohio Wesleyan University.

"Mr. Berry graduated in May from Ohio Wesleyan University, where he received a values in action award from the Greek life community for being a 'perfect role model' and for leading 'the fight to dismantle fraternity stereotypes.' The university posted a Zoom video of the presentation," reported the Times' Neil Vigdor. "'Ohio Wesleyan is saddened to learn of this situation with one of our graduates,' Cole Hatcher, a spokesman for the university, said in an email on Tuesday. 'The case does not involve the university, and the incidents depicted do not reflect Ohio Wesleyan's values.'"

According to reports, the flight crew restrained Berry by duct-taping him to his seat, for which they are currently facing potential disciplinary action from employer Frontier Airlines. Berry is being charged with three counts of battery and is being held at the Miami-Dade County Jail.

"The Association of Flight Attendants said that the encounter was emblematic of the hostilities faced by airline crews since the loosening of travel restrictions that had been put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic," said the report. "It came amid a surge of reports filed by airlines with the Federal Aviation Administration about unruly passengers, who have faced steep fines for disruptions."

Airlines have referred over 1,300 passengers to the Federal Aviation Administration for unruly behavior since February — many of them related to passengers disgruntled over COVID-19 mask mandates.