Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis shared an email from United Airlines on Tuesday announcing his ban from flying with the airline pending a review of an incident that occurred earlier this month. However, United officials clarified that the ban was issued and then lifted weeks ago.
Davis, a former player for the Denver Broncos, reported that he was handcuffed and removed from a flight on July 13 after he lightly tapped a flight attendant on the arm. This prompted the attendant to exclaim, “don’t hit me,” and quickly leave the area.
After being released, Davis expressed his feelings of “humiliation” concerning the incident and called for an investigation. The airline later issued an apology.
“My family will never unsee me, nor will I ever forget, being removed from an airplane in handcuffs for simply asking for a cup of ice,” Davis wrote in his Instagram post on Tuesday.
According to United’s statement, the email banning Davis was generated and sent the day after the incident. The ban was revoked the following day, and this was communicated to Davis’ team, the airline noted.
Davis’ attorney, Parker Stinar, mentioned that Davis had not seen the email regarding the ban initially and that they were unaware of its rescission until Davis made the correspondence public on Tuesday.
“We have released the email due to the lack of response from United across the board,” Stinar stated.
United Airlines confirmed that the flight attendant involved is no longer employed with the company, adding: “We have apologized to Mr. Davis for his experience and are continuing to assess our handling of such incidents.”
Davis secured two Super Bowl victories with the Broncos and was considered one of the NFL’s most formidable offensive players in the early stages of his career. In 1998, he became part of an elite group of players who have rushed for over 2,000 yards in a single season. Although injuries plagued his later career, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017, a decade after his retirement.
