Terrell Davis reveals he was unjustly handcuffed, removed from flight

Legendary NFL running back Terrell Davis said he was handcuffed and removed from an airplane on Saturday after being accused of hitting a flight attendant. Davis issued a statement on his Instagram account, saying that the incident happened while he and his family were on a United Airlines Flight from Denver to Orange County, California on Saturday. Davis said it all started when one of his sons asked the flight attendant for a cup of ice.

“The flight attendant either didn’t hear or ignored his request and continued past our row,” Davis wrote. “I calmly reached behind me and lightly tapped his arm to get his attention to again ask for a cup of ice for my son. His response and the events that followed should stun all of us.”

Davis then wrote the flight attendant shouted, “Don’t hit me!” before rushing to the front of the plane. “I was confused, as were the passengers in front of me who witnessed the exchange,” he continued. “I thought nothing of it other than this particular employee was incredibly rude and blatantly wrong in his accusations of me hitting him.”

The former Denver Broncos star added he didn’t have any additional interactions with the flight attendant, but when the plane landed in Orange County, the passengers were told to stay seated as “six FBI and law enforcement agents boarded the plane.” Davis was placed in handcuffs and removed from the flight.

Terrell Davis felt ‘powerless and angry’ after the incident

“I was – and remain – humiliated, embarrassed, powerless, and angry,” Davis wrote. Once Davis explained the situation to law enforcement, they determined that the flight attendant was “inaccurate,” leading them to apologize to the Hall of Famer and let him go.

Davis then wrote he hadn’t heard anything yet from United Airlines. “I demand a thorough and proper investigation into the flight attendant who blatantly lied and placed undue harm on me and my family,” Davis wrote. In a statement (per ESPN), United Airlines said they reached out to Davis’ team to apologize and have removed the flight attendant from duty while they review the incident.

Davis, 51, played for the Broncos from 1995 to 2002 and helped the team win two Super Bowls. In his career, Davis, a 1995 sixth-round pick from Georgia, was named Offensive Player of the Year twice, named to the Pro Bowl three times and won the NFL MVP award in 1998.