Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis on being handcuffed and removed from a United flight: "I felt powerless"

Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis is accusing United Airlines of a "disgusting display of injustice" after he said he was handcuffed and removed from a flight in front of his family over the weekend. 

In an interview with "CBS Mornings," Davis explained that during the flight, his 13-year-old son asked for a cup of ice. The flight attendant, Davis said, didn't hear his son's request, so Davis, who was sitting in an aisle seat, said he put his hand up to get the flight attendant's attention. Then, when the flight attendant didn't see him, Davis said he "lightly tapped" the flight attendant on the shoulder. That's when Davis said the flight attendant swung around and said, "Don't hit me."

Davis said one of the passengers commented on the interaction.

"He turned around and said, 'You didn't hit him.' He said, 'I saw it. You didn't hit him.'"

The former NFL running back said he was surprised by the flight attendant's reaction, but didn't think much of it until the flight from Denver landed in Orange County, California.

Upon landing, Davis said, everyone was told to remain in their seats. Davis said he thought there could have been a medical emergency, so he remained in his seat reading a magazine until he heard commotion and saw FBI agents in the aisle.

"I see 'FBI' on the jacket. I see the green, I think it was the Orange County Sheriff's Department, and they were walking back toward the plane, and as they get closer to my seat, they come straight to me, and the agent walks up to me, and he leans over and whispers, 'Don't fight it,' and he put the cuffs on me."

At that moment, the former Denver Broncos star wasn't sure why he was being handcuffed. He said he thought about the ice incident, but said the agent didn't explain what was happening.

"That moment, I felt all of my dignity, I felt powerless, I felt embarrassed," he said. 

Davis' wife, Tamiko Davis, said she was not aware of the ice incident. She said she asked what was happening and kept asking her husband if it was a joke.

"This is some cruel practical prank he's pulling on me," she said. "You just have all of these emotions going through."

The couple's sons, who are 11 and 13 years old, were sitting next to Terrell Davis, while their 9-year-old daughter sat on the flight next to Tamiko Davis as the family was headed on vacation to Disneyland.

"I felt helpless. I remember watching them place handcuffs on Terrell, and seeing my two sons there. As a mom, as a Black mom raising two Black sons, you work really hard to not have your children have those types of experiences," Tamiko Davis said. "That moment — I can't protect my children from that."

The couple's attorney, Parker Stinar, said within minutes of interviewing Davis and other passengers, it was determined that the flight attendant's statement was false or misleading.

"The problem is the scars that took place and the trauma that took place are going to impact this family forever," Stinar said on "CBS Mornings." "Equally as important, we have heard from dozens of other United passengers that have experienced similar conduct, events and sadly, I don't know why it happened for Mr. Davis, most of those people aren't handcuffed."

Davis said the agents did apologize to him.

"The biggest problem for me was the intent of the flight attendant," he said. "When you went up there and made that call, your intent was to destroy me. I didn't do anything to him."

United Airlines released a statement regarding the incident:

"This is clearly not the kind of travel experience we strive to provide. We have reached out to Mr. Davis's team to apologize and continue to discuss the issue with them. 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."

Stinar said legal action could be taken.

"They need to be held accountable. We would love to see policy change. We think that's very important, beginning with a sincere true apology."

In:
• Denver Broncos
• NFL
• California
• United Airlines
• Orange County
• Denver
• Airlines

Kelsie Hoffman

Kelsie Hoffman is a push and platform editor on CBS News' Growth and Engagement team. She previously worked on Hearst Television's National Desk and as a local TV reporter in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

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