Jets receiver Santonio Holmes today spoke for the first time since the airline altercation he was involved in last month and said he felt he was unfairly treated by a flight attendant because of who he is.
“I just felt like I was being scrutinized just for who I am,” Holmes said. “The stewardess was not working in the back of the airplane where I was sitting. She came to the back and addressed me to take my iPod off and turn it off. I turned it off, but as she walked away she said she still heard music.
“I took my headphones off and put them to the lady next to me’s ear and said, ‘Ma’am, do you hear any music?’ She addressed, ‘No sir.’ I put my headphones back on and went to sleep and when I got off the airplane the police were standing outside waiting for me.”
Holmes said he was treated unfairly because the incident occurred in Pittsburgh, where he used to play.
“I honestly think it was — flying back to Pittsburgh for the first time since being here in New Jersey,” he said. “She definitely was just trying to make a name for herself, because she actually was the one that went to media and reported it. Nobody else did.”