NFL’s Hall of Famer Terrell Davis says United banned him after flight incident

Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis posted an email from United Airlines on Tuesday saying he was banned from flying on the airline until a review of an incident earlier this month was complete. But United officials said that the ban was sent and then rescinded weeks ago.
Davis, who played for the Denver Broncos during his NFL career, said he was handcuffed and removed from a 13 July flight after he lightly tapped a flight attendant on the arm, prompting the employee to say “don’t hit me” and hurry off.
Davis, who was later released, has called out United for making him feel “humiliated” and demanded an investigation. The airline later apologized.
“My family will never unsee me, nor will I ever forget, being taken off an airplanes in handcuffs for simply asking for a cup of ice,” Davis wrote in Tuesday’s Instagram post.
The day after the incident, the email from United that banned Davis was generated and sent, United said in a statement. The ban was then rescinded the following day, which was communicated with Davis’ team, the airline said.
Davis’ attorney, Parker Stinar, said that Davis did not initially see the email banning him and that they had not received any word that the travel ban had been rescinded until Davis posted the correspondence on Tuesday.
“We have released the email because of the lack of response from United across the board,” Stinar said in a statement.
United Airlines said the flight attendant is no longer with the company, adding: “We have apologized to Mr Davis for his experience and continue to review our handling of incidents like this.”
Davis won two Super Bowls with the Broncos and was one of the most potent offensive threats in the NFL in his early career. In 1998 he became part of the small group of players to have rushed for more than 2,000 yards in a season. His later career was hampered by injury but he was still elected to the Hall of Fame in 2017, 10 years after his retirement.