Terrell Davis says United banned him after the flight accident. The airline says the ban has already been lifted

Davis, who formerly played for the Denver Broncos, said he was handcuffed and ejected from a flight on July 13 after he lightly tapped a flight attendant on the arm, whereupon she said, “Don’t hit me” and quickly walked away.

Davis, who was later released with an apology, accused United of “humiliating” him and called for an investigation.

“My family will never forget me, nor will I ever forget being led off a plane in handcuffs just for asking for a cup of ice cream,” Davis wrote in his Instagram post on Tuesday.

The day after the incident, United’s email banning Davis was created and sent, United said in a statement. The ban was then lifted the following day, which was communicated with Davis’ team, the airline said.

Parker Stinar, Davis’s attorney, said Davis only recently saw the travel ban email and that they did not receive any news of the travel ban being lifted until Davis released the correspondence on Tuesday.

“We published the email because there was no response from United across the board,” Stinar said in a statement.

United Airlines said the flight attendant was no longer with the airline, adding: “We have apologized to Mr. Davis for his experience and continue to review our handling of incidents of this nature.”

Jesse Bedayn is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-reported issues.