CNN
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The son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has apologized for a prank call made to Shedeur Sanders on Friday as he waited to be picked in the NFL draft.
Originally one of the NFL’s most-touted draft prospects, Sanders received a call – allegedly from the general manager of the New Orleans Saints – as he waited anxiously to learn which NFL team would select him. But the call turned out to be a prank.
Jax Ulbrich, the Falcons coach’s son, took to Instagram on Sunday to issue a public apology.
“On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake. Sheduer (sic), what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful,” Ulbrich wrote.
“I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish. I could never imagine getting ready to celebrate one of the greatest moments of your life and I made a terrible mistake and messed with that moment. Thank you for accepting my call earlier today, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
Sanders, who played for the University of Colorado and is the son of Colorado coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, could not be reached for comment. He also has not yet reacted to the development on social media.
The hoax was captured on video and was posted online Saturday by Well Off Media – a production company owned by Shedeur’s brother Deion Sanders Jr.
In the video, the caller posed as Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and told Sanders, “We’re going to take you with our next pick right here.”
Excited friends and family surrounded a grinning Sanders for the eagerly awaited moment.
“But you’re going to have to wait a little longer, man. Sorry about that,” Ulbrich said and hung up.
A confused Sanders could only muster, “What does that mean?”
Adding to the confusion: only NFL personnel were supposed to have access to the private number used just for the draft.
It would be almost another 24 hours before the Cleveland Browns selected Sanders in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick on Saturday.
The Falcons issued a statement Sunday explaining how Ulbrich obtained Sanders’ number.
“Earlier in the week, Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number for Shedeur Sanders off an open iPad while visiting his parent’s home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call,” the team’s statement said.
“Jeff Ulbrich was unaware of the data exposure or any facets of the prank and was made aware of the above only after the fact.
“The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send our sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family, who we have been in contact with to apologize to, as well as facilitate an apology directly from Jax to the Sanders family.”
Before the identity of the prank caller became known, both Sanders and Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski addressed the incident.
“It didn’t really have an impact on me because it was just like, I mean, OK, like I don’t feed into negativity or I don’t feed into that stuff,” Sanders said Saturday in a phone call with the media.
“You’ve seen on Deion Junior’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.”
Stefanski was blunter when he spoke to the media Saturday.
“People are morons would be my reaction to that,” he said. “I mean, it’s sad that these young men have to deal with this. That happened a lot in the green room in Green Bay. Guys were getting calls, so it’s silly, but onward and upward.”
He didn’t specify which other players may have received calls.
The NFL confirmed to CNN that the league is looking into additional prank calls made to other draft hopefuls.
The Falcons said the team will cooperate with the league’s handling of the situation and that the Falcons are reviewing their protocols to prevent any future incidents.
The NFL tells CNN the league has been in contact with the Falcons and is reviewing the matter.
CNN has reached out to the Browns and the Sanders family for comment on the situation.
