Another airline faces criticism for its treatment of a passenger. Terrell Davis, a former Denver Broncos NFL player and MVP of Super Bowl XXXII, was detained by the FBI in front of his family after requesting a cup of ice from a United Airlines flight attendant on a flight from Denver to Orange County, California.
Davis shared his account of the incident in an Instagram post on Monday. He stated that after asking for ice for his son, he tapped the flight attendant on the arm to get his attention, believing he hadn’t been heard. The flight attendant allegedly responded by saying, “don’t hit me,” and then went to the back of the plane. Upon landing, Davis was arrested, handcuffed, and escorted off the plane by FBI agents and local police. The FBI’s Los Angeles field office confirmed to CBS News that Davis had been briefly detained before being released.
Although Davis is Black, he did not explicitly claim the incident was racially motivated. However, he mentioned having “hard conversations” with his family about the event.
“I refuse to stand by without speaking out on this disgusting display of injustice and deplorable treatment by United Airlines,” Davis wrote on Instagram.
This incident is reminiscent of a previous situation involving Black passengers on an American Airlines flight, who were removed for allegedly having “offensive body odor.” They sued American Airlines, and the CEO has since apologized. Davis indicated that his legal team is in contact with United.
In a statement to Quartz, United Airlines said, “This is clearly not the kind of travel experience we strive to provide, and we have reached out to Mr. Davis’s team to apologize.” They also noted that the flight attendant has been removed from duty while the matter is reviewed.