According to state records, the doctor surrendered his medical license in 2005, after he was arrested two years earlier and convicted on multiple felony counts. Dao was allegedly trading prescription medications like Vicodin, an opioid used to treat pain, in exchange for sexual favors with a male employee.<\/p>\n
In a 130-page report in 2005, the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure says Dao prescribed narcotics to Brian Case, his office manager, and routinely paid him $200 per sexual encounter. Dao is married and a grandfather, and his wife is also a doctor. His medical license was provisionally reinstated in 2015.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
While some believe Dao’s past and behavior is relevant to the United Airlines debacle (Dao was the only one of four passengers asked to deboard who refused to do so voluntarily), others say it’s not pertinent to what happened on Monday.<\/p>\n
United Airlines’ company slogan is “Fly the Friendly Skies,” but that apparently doesn’t hold true on the tarmac. The airline claimed it needed to make room for employees flying\u00a0to Kentucky, but when no passengers budged on taking up $800 in offered vouchers, United said\u00a0it used an algorithm that included ticket purchase date, cost, and other variables in selecting who would be removed.<\/p>\n
\nThe company’s response will likely go into public relations\u00a0textbooks on how not to handle a major\u00a0controversy. United CEO Oscar Munoz initially tweeted about the event, saying, “I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
He later told employees in a letter that Dao was “disruptive and belligerent.” Following a torrent of criticism, Munoz finally admitted, “The truly horrific event . . . has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment. I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard.”<\/p>\n
As of this writing, Dao remains hospitalized in Chicago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
United Airlines passenger Dr. David Dao, who was violently removed from an overbooked flight after refusing to give up his seat on Monday, was catapulted into instant worldwide fame after the incident’s phone cam video went viral, causing public outcry over his rough manhandling. Dao, it appears, is a pretty good poker player, with over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":48247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,60,14],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
United Airlines Passenger David Dao's Turbulent Past Includes Frequent WSOP Cashes<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n