Davis’ camp and United Airlines are at odds over the NFL legend’s being placed on the no-fly list after he was controversially handcuffed during an incident with a flight attendant earlier this month.
United Airlines says Davis was on the list for only one day after being reported by a flight attendant who is no longer employed by United, but Davis’ lawyers argue the NFL Hall of Famer received no indication that the travel ban had been lifted until Tuesday, when Davis posted a letter about the travel ban on social media.
United claims the ban was lifted on July 15, two days after the incident.
Davis, 51, shared a screenshot of a letter from United Airlines’ Passenger Incident Review Board on Tuesday morning, captioning the post, “To make matters worse, not only did United remove me from the plane in handcuffs, they placed me on the no-fly list even after they determined I had done nothing wrong and released me. While my family and I will continue to have difficult conversations with my children, I will continue to fight for what is right for all United passengers.”
In another slide, Davis, who was traveling from Denver to California at the time of the attack on July 13, said he and his family “have had to have difficult conversations with our children about how this has and continues to affect them,” and noted that his wife, Tamiko Nash, “now has her own challenges, including seeing what this has done to me, even as she has to continue to move forward every day.”
The incident allegedly happened on a plane earlier this month when Davis was trying to buy ice for his son.
The former Denver Bronco player claimed he “lightly tapped” the flight attendant on the arm to get her attention, and the United Airlines flight attendant yelled “don’t hit me.”
Once the plane landed in Orange County, the pilot asked passengers to remain in their seats, Davis said. Who said“Six FBI and law enforcement agents boarded the plane, went directly to my seat, sat down and immediately handcuffed me with no explanation.”
When questioned, Davis said, “Investigators correctly determined that the flight attendant’s allegations were inaccurate,” and the agency “deeply apologized.”
United Airlines later addressed the incident in a statement.
Davis added Tuesday that the company “not only falsely accused me of something I did not do and left me handcuffed and detained, but also failed in many ways to show true empathy for my family’s experience and to make real changes to prevent this from happening to anyone else.”
“Despite the airline issuing a boilerplate ‘apology’ to the media, I was banned from flying. They have admitted to some wrongdoing but have done nothing to right this wrong,” he posted, adding: “I will be working to see that those in power are held accountable for this mistreatment.”
Following Davis’ Instagram post on Tuesday, United Airlines issued the following statement to The Washington Post: “Mr. Davis received this letter the day after the incident, which was reported by a flight attendant who is no longer employed by United Airlines. The day after the letter was sent, we spoke with Ms. Davis’ team which has since rescinded it. We apologize for Mr. Davis’ experience and continue to evaluate our response to incidents such as these to ensure the safety of our customers and crew, which is our top priority.”
“To date, we have not received any letter or communication indicating that the travel ban has been lifted,” Davis’ attorney, Parker Stinner, told The Washington Post in a separate statement on Tuesday.
“Mr. Davis did not see the initial correspondence until recently, but he released the emails after not receiving a comprehensive response from United Airlines. We can confirm that the reversal of this ban was not received until just a few minutes ago today, after Mr. Davis posted his statement.”
Davis played for the Broncos from 1995 to 2001 and won two Super Bowls.
