Who is Patricia Cornwall? Former NFL cheerleader accused in Delta fight

Patricia Cornwall made the news most recently as being the woman who slapped her co-passenger on a Delta flight. She was at the center of an altercation that left both passengers and employees injured.

Patricia Cornwall was furious at a man who had lowered his mask, which may have been a violation of mask mandates on the airline; although, it didn't look like that, considering the man seemed to be eating.

Instead of approaching staff, Cornwall chose to play the role of a vigilante and decided to make her point through physical violence.

The irony of the entire situation is that when Patricia Cornwall decided to taker matters into her own hands, causing the situation to escalate, video showed that she herself had lowered her mask.

It is not the first time Patricia Cornwall has been in the public eye, or in fact, in the eye of the law. We look at all her past adventures before this latest episode.

Patricia Cornwall: A woman wearing many hats

Patricia Cornwall is well-known to NFL fans, especially those that attended the games of the Los Angeles Raiders in the early 1990s. She was a cheerleader with the Raiderettes at that time. It was not her only public profile, though, as she is also a former Baywatch star. At the time of her latest infraction, Patricia Cornwall was known to be a luxury property estate agent.

When we say 'latest', it is because she has had multiple run-ins with the law prior to this incident as well.

Just last month, Cornwall was charged with driving under influence in Florida. And if that was not enough, she allegedly tried to fight the cops once they arrived on the scene. She had previously been arrested in December 2020 for being found with a BAC of more than 0.08.

Cornwall has also had charges of domestic violence to contend with from her sister-in-law. Allegedly, Patricia Cornwall hated her children and had been threatening towards her.

In this latest instance, since the fracas took place on a flight, federal charges were filed against Cornwall.

It all began, according to the affidavit, when Cornwall wanted to return to her seat from the restroom. She found her way blocked by a flight attendant's trolley as food was being served at that moment. When she asked the attendant to make way, the stewardess remarked that she could take a vacant seat while she served the beverages.

Cornwall responded with an off-color,

"What am I, Rosa Parks?"

The gentleman who was to ultimately become the victim responded, not unreasonably, that she

"...isn't black... this isn't Alabama (of the segregation era)...this isn't a bus."

It prompted a verbal altercation between Cornwall and the elderly gentleman which then escalated to a physical confrontation instigated, allegedly, by her.

She was arrested upon landing in Atlanta. We can only hope this happens to be the last of her infractions.