Davis, according to his statement, “lightly tapped” on the attendant’s arm to get his attention and ask again for the cup of ice.

Davis alleged that the attendant responded, “Don’t hit me,” and headed to the front of the plane, leaving his beverage cart. Davis wrote that he was confused by the attendant’s actions but took it as nothing more than him being “rude and blatantly wrong in his accusations of me hitting him.” Davis said he did not interact further with the attendant for the remainder of the flight. But once on the ground, according to Davis’s recounting, the pilot instructed the passengers to stay seated as six FBI agents and law enforcement officers boarded the plane.

Davis said the agents and local authorities proceeded to his seat, placed him in handcuffs without explanation and removed him from the flight while his wife and children watched and “multiple” passengers recorded the incident but remained silent.

“I was — and remain — humiliated, embarrassed, powerless, and angry,” Davis wrote on social media, adding that the federal agents and local authorities determined during their questioning of him that the attendant was “inaccurate in his accusations.” The agents, according to Davis, “profusely apologized” and offered to support Davis and his family “in any way possible.”

“I refuse to stand by without speaking out on this disgusting display of injustice and deplorable treatment by United Airlines,” Davis added. “… These lies and the ensuing events have the capacity to tarnish the reputation I have spent decades building, and this person should not be able to do this again to anyone in the future.”

When reached for comment, the FBI said it does not provide specifics or names of those who might have been interviewed unless an incident leads to charges that become public. But the agency and the public information office at John Wayne Airport provided a statement acknowledging that FBI agents and law enforcement partners of the airport responded to a report of an incident on a flight that landed there Saturday and “required further investigation.”

“One individual was detained for questioning, was cooperative with law enforcement and was released to continue his travels,” the statement continued.

Davis said in his social media post that he had not heard anything from United Airlines and was seeking “a thorough and proper investigation” into the flight attendant, which United said was underway.

“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,” the airline said in a statement through its media relations team. “We have removed the flight attendant from duty while we closely review this matter.”

Davis retained Parker Stinar with Chicago-based law firm Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley in the matter.

“What took place on a United Airlines flight concerning Mr. Davis is appalling and disturbing to say the least,” Stinar said in a statement to The Washington Post. “We plan on fully investigating the events that took place and are actively contacting United Airlines in this matter. Mr. Davis’ statement speaks for itself, and we can all agree no person should be subjected to this kind of injustice and humiliation, especially in front of their children and wife.”

Davis, a sixth-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 1995, played eight seasons for the franchise, winning a pair of Super Bowl rings and a Super Bowl MVP award. He was the NFL MVP in 1998 after becoming the fourth player in league history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. The Broncos’ all-time leading rusher, Davis was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.