NFL's Everson Griffen Removed From Flight Over 'Unruly Behavior'

Former Minnesota Vikings star Everson Griffen -- a four-time Pro Bowler -- was removed from a plane on Wednesday after he allegedly caused a mid-flight disturbance.

The 37-year-old ex-pass rusher, TMZ Sports has learned, was on a Delta Air Lines jet bound for Minneapolis from Chicago when he was accused of creating a scene.

Flight records show just minutes after the plane took off ... it returned to O'Hare -- and in a statement, a Delta spokesperson said pilots grounded the jet in order to have "an unruly passenger removed."

"Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior and will always work with law enforcement to that end," the spokesperson said. "We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel as safety and security comes before everything else at Delta."

It's unclear if Griffen was arrested over the matter.

Griffen appeared to be excited about taking the flight earlier Wednesday ... as he shared a video of him driving into the airport with a caption that read, "We out Chicago!!!"

"It's up," he added, "it better be!!!"