Update: United Airlines Says Terrell Davis Is Not Banned and Flight Attendant Has Been Fired

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Last week, I wrote about former NFL hall-of-famer, Terell Davis (he played between 1995 and 2001 for the Denver Broncos). Davis won two Super Bowls during that time and is well regarded by football fans. He was traveling with his family when a United flight attendant claimed that he hit him. Davis was handcuffed and led off the plane by police (even though other passengers say that the flight attendant was wrong). Initially, Davis claimed that he was banned from flying the airline. United says that’s wrong and claims that an autogenerated message was sent in error. The carrier also said that the flight attendant in question has been fired.

Davis was traveling with his wife and two sons between Denver International Airport (DEN) and Orange County’s John Wayne Airport (SNA) on Saturday. During the beverage service, Davis asked the flight attendant for a cup of ice for his son (I’m surprised that the family was either seated in Economy or that the flight attendant did not give out ice to begin with, but I digress.) When the flight attendant reportedly ignored him and moved on, Davis tapped him on the shoulder. The flight attendant allegedly “snapped” and yelled at him, “don’t hit me.”

The flight attendant then disappeared for the rest of the flight. Upon landing, Davis said that the pilot asked all passengers to remain seated while six uniformed police officers boarded the plane. Davis was then placed in handcuffs without any explanation and led off of the plane. He was not arrested and immediately released. The agents off of the plane then apologized and offered to help in any way they could. This was too little too late and left Davis feeling “humiliated, embarrassed, powerless, and angry.”
Davis posted an update today saying that United sent him an email stating that he was banned from the airline. United countered. Leslie Scott, a spokesperson for United Airlines, told CNN:

The day after the letter was sent, we discussed with Mr. Davis’ team that it had been rescinded. We have apologized to Mr. Davis for his experience and continue to review our handling of incidents like this to protect our highest priority – the safety of our customers and crew.”

Davis’ attorney, Parker Stinar, said in a statement that United’s ban was “apparently withdrawn” and that they only learned about this change following his social media post.

Anthony’s Take: The flight attendant is “no longer employed” by United and the airline has apologized to Davis. This matter should be settled, but it looks like he is continuing to pursue legal action. We’ll have to see if United settles or where this goes from here.

Davis’ attorney, Parker Stinar, said in a statement that United’s ban was “apparently withdrawn” and that they only learned about this change following his social media post.