‘Treated like a convict’: NFL legend Terrell Davis describes getting handcuffed on a plane near his kids after asking for ice

By Holly Yan, CNN

(CNN) — Terrell Davis and his family were looking forward to vacationing in California when the NFL Hall of Famer was handcuffed and removed from a United Airlines plane – for no apparent reason.

“I was stripped of my dignity. I was powerless. I couldn’t do anything,” the two-time Super Bowl champion told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday.

The incident happened Saturday at the end of a flight from Denver to Orange County, California. Davis, 51, was flying with his wife, two sons and daughter when one of the sons asked for a cup of ice during beverage service, Davis wrote on Instagram. A flight attendant “either didn’t hear or ignored his request and continued past our row,” the post read.

“I calmly reached behind me and lightly tapped (the attendant’s) arm to get his attention to again ask for a cup of ice for my son,” Davis wrote.

“He shouted, ‘Don’t hit me,’ and left the cart to hurriedly approach the front of the plane. I was confused, as were the passengers in front of me who witnessed the exchange. I thought nothing of it other than this particular employee was incredibly rude and blatantly wrong in his accusations of me hitting him.”

Davis said he did not see or interact with the attendant for the rest of the flight. After the plane landed in Orange County, the pilot asked passengers to remain seated, and FBI and law enforcement agents went to Davis’s seat, put him in handcuffs and took him off the plane – with the scene “recorded by multiple passengers,” he wrote.

“My boys were there. And my daughter was there. And my wife is there,” he told CNN. “I’m wondering what’s going on. They didn’t ask me any questions. I had no chance to even explain.”

Davis’ wife, Tamiko Davis, said she knew her husband couldn’t even question why he was being handcuffed and taken away.

“Terrell knows better. Unfortunately, historically, in these situations, interaction with law enforcement as a Black man … you can’t ask,” she told CNN. “So thank God my husband has the wherewithal, the class, the understanding to know, in that moment, all he could do was sit there and comply and be humiliated in front of his sons and the 200 … however many people were on that plane. They didn’t give him any other options.”

Wife and kids were left ‘to fend for ourselves’

Davis said he strives to be a positive role model for his kids and teach them to do the right thing – which makes the sight of him getting taken away in handcuffs even more heartbreaking.

“We did the right thing. We didn’t do anything. Yet I found myself with handcuffs, being paraded off a plane and being treated like a convict,” Davis said.

After Davis was taken off the plane, “We were just left to fend for ourselves on a flight with everyone staring at us,” his wife said told ABC’s “Good Morning America” earlier Wednesday.

Later, “During questioning, it was rightfully determined by the agents that this flight attendant was inaccurate in his accusations and the agents profusely apologized,” Davis wrote.

United Airlines has “removed the flight attendant from duty while we closely review this matter,” the company said in an email to CNN Monday evening.

“This is clearly not the kind of travel experience we strive to provide, and we have reached out to Mr. Davis’ team to apologize,” United Airlines’ email read.

Davis is still waiting for a direct apology from United Airlines, he told “GMA” Wednesday morning.

“They have not reached out to me to apologize,” he told ABC. “They have reached out to my attorney, but I have not heard from them directly. And so that, to me, is a problem.”

CNN reached out to United Airlines for comment after Davis’ remarks Wednesday. “We have nothing new to share,” United’s media relations department said.

‘We are held to a different standard’

The Davises said they’re not certain what race the flight attendant is. But they said Black men are often treated differently – and they’re raising their sons to beware of that cruel reality.

“The traumatizing experience of my two sons, my daughter and my wife watching me being placed in handcuffs – without due process or any explanation – cannot be undone,” Davis wrote on Instagram.

“I certainly felt like that wouldn’t have happened if I were a White person,” Davis told CNN. “That’s what I felt. Whether that’s true or not, that’s a different conversation.”

The FBI’s Los Angeles field office acknowledged Monday that agents and law enforcement partners respond to a report of an incident with a flight that landed Saturday at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport. A person who was detained for questioning “was cooperative with law enforcement and was released to continue his travels,” the FBI office said.

The FBI does not provide details of incidents or names of people who might have been interviewed unless charges are filed publicly, FBI field office spokesperson Laura Eimiller said.

What happened on the flight “is appalling and disturbing to say the least,” Parker Stinar, managing partner of the Chicago-based law firm representing Davis told CNN this week.

“We plan on fully investigating the events that took place and are actively contacting United Airlines in this matter,” Stinar wrote.

Now, instead of vacationing with his children, Davis is using his clout to raise awareness about mistreatment and hopefully “affect change,” he told “GMA.”

As one of only eight running backs to have rushed more than 2,000 yards in an NFL season, Davis played seven seasons in the NFL – all with the Broncos – from 1995 to 2001, and helped the Broncos win two Super Bowls in January 1998 and January 1999.

He was named MVP of that first title game, rushing for 157 yards and scoring three touchdowns in the Broncos’ 31-24 win over the Green Bay Packers. The three-time Pro Bowler was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

But despite his fame, Davis said he and other Black men are often treated differently.

He wants his sons to keep an open mind if they feel they’re being perceived differently – “I always try to go through a checklist of things that it could be, and I always try to use race as like the last sort of possible thing,” Davis told CNN.

“But I always tell them: What applies to everybody else doesn’t apply to you,” he said. “We’re always trying to teach them that there’s consequences, but we are held to a different standard.”

CNN’s Jason Hanna, Raja Razek, Cindy Von Quednow and Kelly McCleary contributed to this report.

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