United says ban on Terrell Davis is gone — and so is flight attendant involved in incident (2024)

United Airlines says a travel ban placed on former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis was lifted days after an incident with a flight attendant led to the Pro Football Hall of Famer being handcuffed and removed by the FBI from a plane at John Wayne Airport earlier this month.

The airline also said that the flight attendant — who Davis has said yelled “Don’t hit me!” after Davis had lightly tapped him to ask for some ice on a July 13 flight from Denver to Santa Ana — is no longer employed by United.

On Tuesday morning, Davis posted on Instagram an email from United that said he would not be permitted to travel on the airline while it reviewed the incident.

“I was banned on this airline even after they sent a media-issued statement with a boilerplate ‘apology,’” Davis wrote.

United sent a statement to The Times on Tuesday in response to questions regarding Davis’ post.

“Mr. Davis received this letter the day after the incident,” the airline wrote of the email informing Davis of the travel ban. “It was generated due to the report of the flight attendant — who is no longer employed by United. 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 Davis’ team that it had been rescinded.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.”

A representative for Parker Stinar, Davis’ attorney, confirmed to The Times that the email informing Davis of the ban had been sent July 14. However, Stinar said in a statement to The Times, Davis did not see the notice “until recently” and no one from his team had been informed that the ban had been lifted until after Davis’ Instagram post Tuesday morning.

“Up until today, we had received no correspondence or communication indicating that the travel ban had been rescinded,” Stinar said. “Mr. Davis did not see the initial correspondence until recently, and we have released the email because of the lack of response from United across the board. We can confirm we had received no rescinding of this ban until today, just moments ago, and only after Mr. Davis posted his statement.”

Later Tuesday, Stinar released a statement through his firm, Stinar, Gould, Grieco & Hensley Law.

“Today, for the first time, SGGH Law learned — along with the Davis Family and the general public — that United Airlines has apparently withdrawn its Travel Ban against Terrell Davis,” Stinar said. “United has claimed that this information was already communicated to the Davis Family through his lawyers. This is blatantly false.

“We continue to be disappointed by the inappropriate and disrespectful handling of this horrific incident by United’s communication and legal teams. This response only further reinforces the lack of care taken with the Davis Family and disregard and negligence of their well-being. Engaging in tactics in an attempt to discredit the timeline of events is worrisome, to say the least.”

In response to the latest statement by Stinar, United told The Times it stands by its earlier statement and also provided a timeline of events that stated that the letter informing Davis of the travel ban was rescinded on July 15 and that the airline “communicated to Mr. Davis’ legal team” on July 15 and 16 that the letter had been rescinded.

Davis initially talked about the incident in an Instagram post and then several more times during a number of TV appearances. The FBI confirmed to The Times that it responded July 13 to a report of “a violent assault” and that a person was detained for questioning, was cooperative and then was released, with no charges pursued.

Two days after the incident, United released a statement saying the airline had “reached out to Mr. Davis’s team to apologize and continue to discuss the issue with them.” Last week, Stinar released video of Davis as he was being placed in handcuffs on the plane and announced that his client would be suing United and the flight attendant over the incident.

Stinar said on Tuesday that Davis’ lawsuit against United and its now-former employee will proceed.

“Today’s events have only further confirmed that there is an urgent need for an overhaul of United’s leadership, who continues to prioritize protecting their image over passenger safety and experience, including at the expense of an innocent family’s reputation and well-being,” Stinar said in his later statement.