The NFL Draft is not only a weekend of strategic decisions for team owners and coaches, but a life-changing event for those players hoping to get the call that they will be playing in the NFL. But on Saturday evening, one player got a call he wasn’t expecting. It was a prank call from none other than the son of the Atlanta Falcons’ defensive coordinator.
According to CBS News, Jax Ulbrich found Shedeur Sanders’ phone number on his father’s iPad. The smart tablet was unlocked and open, and he wrote down the number. Later, Ulbrich took a video of himself and a friend placing the call. Sanders can be heard answering on the other end of the line, and then Ulbrich “identifies himself as New Orleans Saints general manager Mickley Loomis. ‘We’re going to take you with our next pick here, man,’ the young man says into the phone.”
It quickly became clear that the call was a hoax, and the former Colorado University star was later drafted in the fifth round to the Cleveland Browns.
In the aftermath of the prank, Jax Ulbrich posted an apology to social media as did the Atlanta Falcons. Ulbrich wrote, “I made a tremendous mistake. Scheduer, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful. I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish.”
The Falcons confirmed that Coach Ulbrich was unaware of the data breach by his son, and he will not face any disciplinary action as a result.
“We are thoroughly reviewing all protocols, and updating if necessary, to help prevent an incident like this from happening again,” said the team statement. “The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send our sincere apologies to Schedeur Sanders and his family, who we have been in contact with to apologize to.”
NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy also confirmed that the league is investigating the incident as well, and they have been in touch with the Falcons.
Sanders referenced the prank call later in an interview with Cleveland reporters. “It didn't really have an impact on me," Sanders said, "because it was just like, I mean, OK, like I don't feed into negativity, or I don't feed into that stuff. You've seen on Deion [Sanders] Jr.'s YouTube video my reaction to it, I don't -- it is what it is. I think, of course, it is childish. Of course, I feel like it was a childish act, but everybody does childish things here and there.”
