Ex-NFL star Terrell Davis and United offer differing accounts of his ban from airline (2024)

Former NFL player Terrell Davis said United Airlines banned him from future flights following an incident onboard earlier this month. Here, Davis delivers his speech during induction ceremonies at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Canton, Ohio. Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM hide caption

toggle caption

Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Davis on Tuesday said that United Airlines had banned him from its flights, weeks after the retired football star said he was wrongfully handcuffed and removed from one of their planes earlier this month. United said the ban was quickly rescinded and Davis and his team had been alerted weeks ago.

“This company not only wrongfully accused me of something I did not do and had me handcuffed and detained, but they have failed on so many levels to demonstrate any genuine empathy for my family's experience and also at making the real changes to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else,” Davis said in a statement posted to his Instagram account.

“I was banned on this airline even after they sent a media-issued statement with a boilerplate ‘apology.’ "

In the Instagram post, Davis included a screenshot of an email sent from a United email address that stated: “You are not permitted to fly on United Airlines or any regional carrier operating as United Express until a review of this incident by United's Passenger Incident Review Committee (PIRC) has occurred.”

United responded in a statement to NPR, writing that the initial email alerting Davis of a travel ban had been issued the day after the July 13 incident — but the ban was rescinded the next day.

“The day after the letter was sent, we discussed with Mr. Davis’ team that it had been rescinded,” United said in the statement.

“We have apologized to Mr. Davis for his experience and continue to review our handling of incidents like this to protect our highest priority - the safety of our customers and crew,” the airline said.

In the initial incident, Davis — who was traveling with his family from Denver to Santa Ana, Calif. — said his son requested a cup of ice during the beverage service part of the flight. A flight attendant, according to Davis, “either didn’t hear or ignored [my son’s] request and continued past our row.”

Davis said he lightly tapped the attendant’s arm to get his attention, when the United employee abruptly shouted, “Don't hit me,” and left the beverage cart to “hurriedly approach the front of the plane.” Davis said that he recalled both himself and other passengers being “confused” after witnessing the flight attendant's reaction.

Upon arrival in California, six FBI and other law enforcement agents boarded the plane and placed him in handcuffs.

Davis’ legal team, Stinar Gould Grieco and Hensley, said United was trying to cover up its behavior toward Davis by claiming it had long since alerted them that Davis was no longer on the airline’s banned list.

“Today, for the first time, SGGH Law learned - along with the Davis Family and the general public – that United Airlines has apparently withdrawn its Travel Ban against Terrell Davis,” Parker Stinar, the attorney representing Davis, said in a statement.

“United has claimed that this information was already communicated to the Davis Family through his lawyers. This is blatantly false,” Stinar said.

United’s attempt to “discredit the timeline of events is worrisome, to say the least,” the law firm added.

Davis, who played seven seasons for the Denver Broncos from 1995 to 2001 and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said the entire incident has left him and his family shaken.

“My family will never unsee me, nor will I ever forget, being taken off an airplane in handcuffs for simply asking for a cup of ice,” Davis said in his Tuesday statement.

“We have had to endure difficult conversations with our children about how this has and will continue to affect them," he said. "My wife, who had to stand by powerless to this injustice, now has her own set of challenges, including watching what this has done to me despite me having to continue to push forward every day.”