NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Davis said a recent United flight bound for Southern California left him “demoralized” and “humiliated” in a Wednesday morning interview with “GMA.” Davis said he was handcuffed and escorted off the plane by the FBI before law enforcement officers realized he didn’t do anything wrong.
Davis said the incident started during the beverage service on a flight over the weekend from Denver to Orange County, California. The former Denver Broncos player said he was on board with his wife and kids.
His kids were playing on their iPads, he said, and weren’t paying close attention to the drink service.
As the flight attendant started to move away with the cart, “My son says, ‘Excuse me, may I have some ice?'” Davis recounted. The flight attendant didn’t seem to hear, and kept walking away, so Davis said he tapped the attendant on his shoulder to get his attention.
“I just tapped him on his shoulder, but he swings his arm back and says, ‘Don’t hit me.’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, I didn’t hit you.’ And then he rushes up to the front of the plane, leaves the cart right there, and the gentleman in front of me turns around and says ‘I saw everything, I saw that. You didn’t hit him.'”
Davis thought the interaction was “bizarre” and rude, but didn’t think things would escalate further. But when the plane landed, he said everyone was instructed to remain in their seats. Davis thought there may have been a medical emergency, but instead FBI agents boarded the plane.
“Without explaining to me why they were doing it, they walk up to me and the guy just whispers in my ear, ‘Don’t fight it,’ and he puts cuffs on me.”
Once off the plane, Davis was questioned by officers. Davis said that’s when law enforcement determined the flight attendant’s accusations didn’t have merit and apologized.
“I felt demoralized. I felt embarrassed, humiliated. I felt like my dignity was stripped from me right in front of my children and my family,” Davis told “GMA.”
United Airlines said in a statement that they reached out to Davis’ team to apologize and have removed the flight attendant from duty while they review the incident.
“This is clearly not the kind of travel experience we strive to provide,” the statement read.
FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller said in a statement that agents and law enforcement partners at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport responded to a report of an incident aboard a flight, and detained and then released an individual who was cooperative.
Parker Stinar, Davis’ attorney, said in a statement: “We plan on fully investigating the events that took place and are actively contacting United Airlines in this matter.”
In a post about the incident Instagram, Davis said, “I refuse to stand by without speaking out on this disgusting display of injustice and deplorable treatment by United Airlines.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.