NEW YORK CITY — Pro Football Hall of Famer and former UGA great Terrell Davis opened up for the first time days after he says he was handcuffed and removed from a United Airlines flight.
Davis and his wife, Tamiko, sat down Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts for an interview that aired Wednesday morning on Channel 2.
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“I felt demoralized. I felt embarrassed, humiliated. I felt like my dignity was stripped from me right in front of my children and my family,” Davis told GMA. “I want United to be held accountable.”
The Davis family were traveling from Denver, where the running back won two Super Bowls with the Broncos, to California for a vacation.
During the beverage service, Davis said he tapped a flight attendant’s arm to ask for ice for his son when the flight attendant suddenly yelled.
“I just tapped him on the shoulder,” Davis said. “He swings his arm back and said, ‘Don’t hit me!’”
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Davis and the flight attendant didn’t speak the rest of the flight. But when it landed, FBI agents boarded the plane. Tamiko Davis told GMA that he thought there had been a medical emergency.
Next thing they knew, the agents were handcuffing and removing Terrell from the plane.
“I thought it was a joke, because what else could it be?” Tamiko said.
“I’m looking at looking at my sons who are sitting right next to him, watching their dad being handcuffed,” she added. “And what could we do? And I’m asking them, ‘What is going on? Like why are you doing this?’”
United Airlines released a statement to Channel 2 Action News.
“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. We have removed the flight attendant from duty while we closely review this matter.”
The Davis family said so far United has only reached out to their attorneys. They wanted to speak out though to stop this from happening again.
“Lots of people have contacted me after this and they’re sending me text messages saying that the same thing happened to them,” Davis told GMA.
Good Morning America contributed to this article. Good Morning America airs every day following Channel 2 Action News This Morning and on the weekends after Channel 2 Action News Saturday AM and Channel 2 Action News Sunday AM.
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