After a video of Khabib Nurmagomedov being removed from a Frontier flight went viral, a major civil rights organization claimed racial profiling was behind the stunning moment.
UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov has not competed inside the Octagon in over four years. However, as one of the best fighters of all time, he does pop up in the MMA headlines on occasion. That was the case over the weekend when a viral video showed staff on a Frontier flight surprisingly removing him from the plane.
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The video does not put the flight staff in a good light because the reasoning for his removal was unclear other than an opinion. While the former UFC lightweight king tried to plead a case for the unfairness of the situation, he chose to leave the plane peacefully and did not make a scene.
However, on Sunday afternoon, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was ready to make a very public scene and called for Frontier to conduct an immediate probe of what they felt might be a situation of racial profiling.
- Khabib Nurmagomedov record: 29-0 (8 knockouts, 11 submissions)
CAIR claims religious profiling in viral Khabib Nurmagomedov video
“We call on Alaska Airlines 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 National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
“Given how often incidents of racial and religious profiling occur on airlines, especially against travelers who are noticeably Muslim, Alaska Airlines should also publicly release the results of its investigation and take appropriate action to address any misconduct or mistakes by its staff.”
After the video went viral on Sunday and the CAIR statement, Nurmagomedov took to X to explain his side of the video which has gotten hundreds of thousands of views since this afternoon.
“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 assist, she still insists on removing me from my seat. What was the base for that, racial, national, or other one, I’m not sure.
Khabib Nurmagomedov
But after 2 minutes of conversation, she called security and I was deplaned from this aircraft. After 1.5 hour I boarded another airline and left for 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 to clients.
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