Another airline faces controversy over 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 asking a United Airlines flight attendant for a cup of ice on a flight from Denver to Orange County, California.
Davis explained his side of the incident on Instagram. He said that after requesting the ice for his son, he tapped the flight attendant on the arm to get his attention, thinking he hadn’t been heard. The flight attendant allegedly told Davis, “don’t hit me,” before heading to the back of the plane. When the flight landed, FBI agents and local police arrested and handcuffed him, leading him off the plane. The FBI’s Los Angeles field office confirmed to CBS News that Davis was briefly detained before being released.
Although Davis did not explicitly state the incident was racially motivated, he mentioned having “hard conversations” with his family about what happened.
“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 case involving a group of Black American Airlines passengers who were removed from their flight due to false accusations of “offensive body odor.” They sued the airline, 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,” adding that “we have removed the flight attendant from duty while we closely review this matter.”