United Airlines on Monday apologized after Hall of Famer Terrell Davis was detained over the weekend following a dispute with a flight attendant.
The incident happened Saturday during a flight from Denver to California.
The two-time Super Bowl champion detailed the situation in an Instagram post, saying that he was traveling with his wife, two sons and a daughter when his son “politely” asked a flight attendant for a cup of ice.
The United employee didn’t hear the request or ignored it and then continued to walk past his row, according to his account. When he didn’t receive a response, Mr. Davis said he “calmly reached” behind him and “lightly tapped” the flight attendant’s arm to get his attention again.
“His response and the events that followed should stun all of us,” he wrote.
He revealed that the flight attendant shouted, “don’t hit me” and then left the area. The comment surprised him and other passengers around him. He thought nothing of it other than the employee was wrong in his accusations and “incredibly rude,” he wrote.
Mr. Davis further explained that he did not communicate with the attendant for the rest of the flight and assumed that the issue was over. However once the flight landed at John Wayne Airport in southern California, the pilot had instructed passengers to remain seated.
Law enforcement then boarded the plane, placed him in handcuffs and removed him from the flight without any explanation, the NFL star said.
“I was–and remain–humiliated, embarrassed, powerless, and angry,” Mr. Davis wrote. “The traumatizing experience of my two sons, my daughter, and my wife watching me being placed in handcuffs—without due process or any explanation—cannot be undone.”
The FBI did not identify Mr. Davis by name but confirmed that its agents and local law enforcement responded to an incident that happened on the flight and that the individual was detained, cooperated with law enforcement and released.
United Airlines in a statement acknowledged the incident and issued an apology, also revealing that it removed the flight attendant from duty as it reviews the incident.
“This is clearly not the kind of travel experience we strive to provide, and we have reached out to Mr. Davis’s team to apologize,” the airline said in a statement.
Mr. Davis’ Instagram account directed any inquiries regarding the incident to law firm Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley. NTD News reached out to the law firm for a statement but did not receive a response before the publication time.
Mr. Davis was selected in the sixth round of the 1995 NFL draft and played for the Denver Broncos his entire seven-year career. The legendary running back was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player in 1997 and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017. He retired during the 2002 preseason.