United Airlines has apologised to NFL Hall of Fame legend Terrell Davis after the two-time Super Bowl champion said he was “wrongly handcuffed” on a flight to California.
Mr Davis said he was removed from a United Airlines aircraft last Saturday after a flight attendant accused the former Denver Broncos star of hitting him.
The 51-year-old, who was flying with his family from Denver, spoke about his ordeal on social media. He said the claim was false and described feeling “traumatised” by it.
United Airlines told the BBC it had removed the flight attendant from duty while it investigates the matters and reviews its policies.
Posting on his Instagram, Mr Davis released a statement explaining that during the flight’s beverage service his son had asked for a cup of ice.
In an effort to get his son the ice, Mr Davis said he “lightly tapped” the flight attendant on the arm to get his attention, only to hear him respond, “Don’t hit me!”
The flight attendant then left the cart and went to the front of the plane, according to the Instagram account.
“I was confused, as were the passengers in front of me who witnessed the exchange, Mr Davis wrote. “I thought nothing of it other than this particular employee was incredibly rude and blatantly wrong in his accusations of me hitting him.”
Mr Davis said that when the plane arrived at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, he and other passengers were told to remain seated. FBI agents and local authorities then boarded the plane, placed him in handcuffs in front of his wife and three children and then removed him from the flight.
He said the “entire flight of passengers watched in silence”.
A United Airlines spokeswoman told the BBC the company has apologised to Mr Davis and continues to discuss the incident with him.
“This is clearly not the kind of travel experience we strive to provide,” she said.
“We have removed the flight attendant from duty while we closely look into this matter and we are reviewing our policies around incidents like this.”
Mr Davis was a star running back for the Denver Broncos, playing for them from 1995 to 2001.
He helped Denver win Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII, remains the team’s all-time leading rusher and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.
