Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis Believes Race Played Role in Removal of Handcuffs on United Flight

Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis said Wednesday he believes race played a factor in his recent handcuffed removal from a United Airlines flight after asking for a glass of ice.

Davis, a former Denver Broncos star and two-time Super Bowl champion, said he is still traumatized by the incident that occurred aboard a flight to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, on Saturday.

He said he believed race played a role in the incident.

“I believe if I wasn’t a black man, I wouldn’t have been handcuffed 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 cream and a passing flight attendant didn’t respond, according to the retired football star.

Davis said he then “lightly tapped” the flight attendant on the arm to get her attention when he yelled, “Don’t hit me.”

The flight went off without further incident, but upon landing, a half-dozen FBI agents and sheriff’s deputies boarded and took Davis away in handcuffs, he said.

Earlier this week, United Airlines apologized and placed the flight attendant on leave while it reviewed the incident.

“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 said in a statement.

If he hadn’t been black, Davis said, he thinks he still would have been questioned, but probably not walked off the flight in handcuffs.

“Yes, they would have gotten on the plane and maybe… taken me off and arrested me? Probably. I saw it happen,” he said. “But they put me in handcuffs and didn’t give me due process.”

He criticised United for not asking for his side of the story before calling authorities and setting off a chain of events that ended with him in handcuffs.

Davis said he was grateful that a passenger sitting in front of him witnessed the encounter and told authorities it was not a violent incident.

“What if my only witness wasn’t on that plane? What if he didn’t see it, what if he had headphones on?” Davis asked. “So now it’s my word against the stewardess’s: How do you think this is going to end?”

The FBI confirmed that agents responded to “an allegation of a violent assault on board” that United flight.

“One individual was detained for questioning, was cooperative with law enforcement, and was released to continue his travel,” the FBI said in a statement.

Davis said he and the other passenger gave their version of events to authorities, who determined that “this flight attendant made inaccurate accusations.” FBI agents “apologized profusely” when he was released, Davis said.

Davis’ wife, Tamiko Davis, fought back tears as she wondered aloud during an interview with NBC News what their three children must have thought when they saw their father 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 had an experience,” she said, fighting back tears. “That’s what we said.”

She added: “It was unfortunately a harsh lesson for our family. It was a stark reminder of the kind of world they live in.”

Terrell Davis played seven seasons in the NFL, all for the Denver Broncos.

His relatively short career had a profound impact on the three-time champion Broncos, a franchise best known for going 0-4 in the Super Bowl before Davis arrived in Denver.

In 1997 and 1998, he led the NFL in rushing touchdowns, with 15 and 21, respectively. In 1998, he rushed for a league-record 2,008 yards, leading Denver to its second consecutive Super Bowl title.

Davis, the 1998 Super Bowl MVP, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.