Former NFL player Brendan Langley arrested, United worker fired after brawl at Newark airport

Former NFL player Brendan Langley was arrested on an assault charge and a New Jersey airport worker was fired after the two got into a bloody brawl at the United Airlines check-in counter.

The fight, partly captured on cellphone video and posted to social media, happened just after 11 a.m. Thursday at Newark Liberty International Airport.

In the video, the worker appears to slap Langley in the face and Langley hits him back. The two men exchange words and Langley throws a punch, which the worker dodges.

Langley then moves toward the worker and throws more punches, hitting the man in the face. The man stumbles over some luggage and approaches Langley, the video shows.

The two men continue fighting as other passengers move out of the way. Langley and the worker briefly separate and exchange some more words before the worker hits Langley in the face, the video shows.

"You saw that s---," Langley says before he appears to repeatedly punch the worker.

The worker falls and is seen bleeding from above his left eye. In the video, the worker gets up and approaches Langley as two airport employees come over and break up the brawl.

The video does not show what led up to the fight. Langley, 27, was accused of improperly using a wheelchair to transport his luggage, United Airlines said.

Langley was arrested and released on his own recognizance, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.

The unidentified worker, who works for United Ground Express, a subsidiary of United Airlines, was fired.

"United Airlines does not tolerate violence of any kind at our airports or on board our planes and we are working with local authorities to further investigate this matter," the airline said in a statement.

Langley most recently played as a wide receiver for the Calgary Stampeders, a Canadian football team.