Terrell Davis told ‘GMA’ his ‘dignity was stripped’ after he was handcuffed on a United Airlines plane in front of his children

Programming note: Terrell Davis will give his first cable interview with Erin Burnett today. It is scheduled to air live at 1 p.m. ET on CNN.

CNN
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NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Davis’ children were looking forward to a vacation in California when their father was inexplicably handcuffed and removed from a United Airlines plane.

“I felt demoralized. I felt embarrassed, humiliated. I felt like my dignity was taken away from me in front of my children and my family. And I want United to be held accountable for that,” the two-time Super Bowl champion told ABC’s “Good Morning America” ​​on Wednesday.

Davis is still waiting for a direct apology from United Airlines, he told “GMA” Wednesday morning. CNN has reached out to United Airlines for comment.

The incident happened Saturday at the end of a flight from Denver to Orange County, California. Davis, 51, was traveling with his wife, two sons and daughter when one of the sons asked for a glass of ice during beverage service, Davis wrote on Instagram. A flight attendant “did not 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 and ask him again for a cup of ice cream for my son,” Davis wrote. “His response and the events that followed should astound us all.”

“He yelled, ‘Don’t hit me,’ and left the cart and ran toward 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 that this particular employee was incredibly rude and was clearly wrong to accuse me of hitting him.”

Davis did not see or interact with the flight attendant for the remainder of the flight, he wrote. After the plane landed in Orange County, the pilot asked passengers to remain seated, and FBI agents and law enforcement officers went to Davis’ seat, handcuffed him and removed him from the plane — the scene “recorded by multiple passengers,” he wrote.

Davis’ wife, Tamiko Davis, told “GMA” she “thought it was a joke, because what else could it be?”

She asked her husband, “Terrell, are you kidding me? … Is this a prank?” And he just said, quietly, “No, it’s not.” And I was looking at my sons, who were sitting right next to him, watching their father get handcuffed.

After Davis was taken off the plane, “we were left to fend for ourselves on a flight with everyone watching us,” his wife told ABC.

Later, “During the interrogation, the officers correctly determined that this flight attendant had made inaccurate accusations and the officers apologized profusely,” Davis wrote.

United Airlines has “removed the flight attendant from her duties 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.

But Davis told “GMA,” “They haven’t reached out to me to apologize. They’ve reached out to my attorney, but I haven’t heard from them directly. And so that, to me, is a problem.”

“The traumatic experience of my two sons, my daughter and my wife seeing me handcuffed – without due process or any explanation – is irreparable,” Davis wrote on Instagram.

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

The FBI is not providing details about the incidents or the names of people who may have been questioned unless charges are publicly filed, FBI field office spokeswoman 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, wrote in an email to CNN this week.

“We plan to thoroughly investigate the events that took place and are actively reaching out to United Airlines regarding this matter,” Stinar wrote.

One of only eight running backs to rush for 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 the MVP of that first title game, rushing for 157 yards and three touchdowns in the Broncos’ 31-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers. The three-time Pro Bowler was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

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