UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov has gone public with allegations of mistreatment by Frontier Airlines staff after being forced to leave a flight over the weekend.
A video surfaced recently of Nurmagomedov, who was seated in an emergency exit row of an airplane, being told that he must either be moved to a different seat in the airplane or be removed from the flight altogether.
Seemingly confused as to why he was being forced to move from his original seat, Nurmagomedov asked why. “Because [my flight attendants] are not comfortable with you sitting in the emergency exit row,” a staff member was seen saying to him.
“It’s not fair,” said Nurmagomedov, who refused to have his seat changed and was later seen exiting the aircraft.
Nurmagomedov later took to social media, emphasizing that he wasn’t aware of why he wasn’t allowed to sit in the emergency exit row.
“Lady who comes to me with questions was very rude from the very beginning, even though I speak very decent English and can understand everything and agreed to assisted, she still insists on removing me from my seat,” Nurmagomedov wrote on social media. “What was the base for that, racial, national, or other one, I’m not sure.”
“But after 2 minutes of conversation, she called security and I was deplaned from this aircraft, after 1.5 hour I boarded another airline one and left to my destination. I did my best to stay calm and respectful as you can see on the video. But those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients.”
Worries that Nurmagomedov’s treatment was a case of racial profiling caught the attention of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which released a statement shortly after the video emerged.
“We call on Frontier and the U.S. Department of Transportation to swiftly and transparently investigate this incident to determine exactly what happened on this flight and why athlete and Muslim advocate Khabib Nurmagomedov was treated this way and whether religious or racial profiling played a role in his treatment,” CAIR’s National Executive Director, Nihad Awad, wrote.
A statement from Frontier Airlines claims that Nurmagomedov was deplaned after he did not respond to requests that he could assist in an emergency situation, a briefing that is usually done for passengers sitting in an exit row.
“According to the flight attendant, Mr. Nurmagomedov did not respond, despite repeated attempts, which placed him in non-compliance with FAA requirements,” the company said.
Frontier went on to deny that Nurmagomedov’s background played a factor in his removal from the flight.
“The decision to deplane the customer was in no way related to his ethnicity and we have refunded him and his traveling companions for their flights.”
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