NFL Hall Of Famer Terrell Davis ‘Treated Like A Convict’ After Being Forcibly Removed From Flight: ‘I Was Powerless'
Legendary NFL star Terrell Davis was looking forward to a relaxing vacation before his travels took a turn when he was handcuffed in front of his wife and kids.
The father of three describes a causal interaction with a flight attendant that would later end in turmoil. "I was powerless. I couldn't do anything," Davis, 51, told 'CNN's' Erin Burnett Wednesday.
During what Davis considered to be an "ordinary" flight from Denver to Orange County, beverage service began before one of his son's asked a flight attendant for ice. "What do you want," Davis claims the attendant asked with a short tone.
@gma NFL Hall of Famer #TerrellDavis and his wife Tamiko speak out after he says he was wrongfully detained after an incident with a #UnitedAirlines flight attendant: "We would much rather not be here talking about this." #news ♬ original sound - Good Morning America
"My son says, 'Excuse me, can I have some ice,' " Davis recalled, noting that the flight attendant must not have heard him as he began to walk away with the cart. Davis described trying to get the man's attention before asking once more on behalf of his son, this time tapping him on the shoulder.
"Don't hit me!" Davis claims the attendant responded, swinging his arm back before rushing to the front of the plane and being replaced with another flight attendant. Davis thought nothing of the minor interaction. "I don't see him for the rest of the flight," he explained.
Upon landing, authorities approached him "without explaining to me why they were doing it, they walk up to me and the guy whispers in my ear, 'Don't fight it,' and he puts cuffs on me — while I'm sitting down."
"I thought it was a joke, because what else could it be?" his wife, Tamiko Davis, stated.
"I jumped out of my seat and I said, 'Wait a minute, what's going on?' No one helped me," Tamiko said. "We were just left to fend for ourselves, on a flight, with everyone staring at us."
The legendary athlete said he was "still in shock" in an open letter he posted to Instagram Monday.
"I was — and remain — humiliated, embarrassed, powerless, and angry. During questioning, it was rightfully determined by the agents that this flight attendant was inaccurate in his accusations and the agents profusely apologized even offering to support me and my family in any way possible," he wrote. "I demand a thorough and proper investigation into the flight attendant who blatantly lied and placed undue harm on me and my family."
He continued: "These lies and the ensuing events have the capacity to tarnish the reputation I have spent decades building, and this person should not be able to do this again to anyone in the future."
