Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis said Wednesday he believes race played a determining factor in his recent removal, in handcuffs, from a United Airlines flight after he asked for a cup of ice.
Davis, a former Denver Broncos star and two-time Super Bowl champion, said he’s still traumatized by the incident aboard a flight to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, on Saturday.
He said he believes race played a role in the incident.
“I believe if I were not a Black man, I wouldn’t have been in handcuffs until they found out exactly what happened,” Davis told NBC News.
Davis, 51, was on the United flight from Denver when his son asked for a cup of ice and a passing flight attendant didn’t respond, he said.
Davis said that he then “lightly tapped” on the flight attendant’s arm to get his attention and that the flight attendant shouted, “Don’t hit me.”
The flight went on without further incident — but once it landed, a half-dozen FBI agents and sheriff’s deputies boarded and took Davis away in handcuffs, he said.
United Airlines apologized this week and took the flight attendant off duty while it reviews the incident.
“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,” United said in a statement.
Davis said he believes that if he were not Black, he still would have been questioned but probably not removed from the flight in handcuffs.
“Yeah, would they have come on to the plane and maybe … walk me off and detain me? Probably. I’ve seen that happen,” he said. “But to put the cuffs on me and not give me my due process?”
He criticized United, alleging it did ask for his side of the story before it called authorities and touched off a chain of events that ended with him handcuffed.
Davis said he’s grateful for a passenger seated in front of him who, he said, witnessed the encounter and told authorities it was not violent incident.
“What if my only witness was not on that plane? What if he did not see it. What if he had headphones on?” Davis said. “So now it’s my word against the flight attendant. How do you think that ends?”
The FBI confirmed that agents responded to “an allegation of a violent assault aboard” the United flight.
“One individual was detained for questioning, was cooperative with law enforcement and was released to continue his travels,” the FBI said in a statement.
Davis said he and the other passenger gave their side of the story to authorities, who determined “that this flight attendant was inaccurate in his accusations.” The FBI agents “profusely apologized” when they released him, Davis said.
Davis’ wife, Tamiko Davis, fought back tears wondering out loud in an interview what their three children must have been thinking seeing their dad being handcuffed and taken away.
“Unfortunately, because of the color of your beautiful skin, your experiences in this world are going to be different, and unfortunately at 13, 11 and 9 you’ve had an experience,” she said, choking back tears. “This is what we’ve been saying.”
She added: “This unfortunately was a hard lesson for our family. It was a harsh reminder of the type of world that they live in.”
Terrell Davis played seven seasons in the NFL, all for the Broncos.
His relatively short career had a profound impact on the three-time champion Broncos, a franchise that had been best known for going 0-4 in the Super Bowl before Davis arrived in Denver.
He led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 1997 and 1998, with 15 and 21, respectively. He rushed for a league high 2,008 yards in 1998, leading Denver to its second consecutive Super Bowl title.
Davis — MVP of the 1998 Super Bowl — was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Andrew Blankstein contributed.