8 hours ago
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.
One of the NFL’s biggest 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. Sanders was later drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick on Saturday.
Jax Ulbrich, the Falcons’ defensive coordinator’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 has not yet reacted to the development on social media.
The Falcons also issued a statement explaining how the incident came to pass.
“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. 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 team’s statement said.
“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.”
The Falcons went on to say that 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
One of the NFL’s biggest 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. Sanders was later drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick on Saturday.
Jax Ulbrich, the Falcons’ defensive coordinator’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 has not yet reacted to the development on social media.
The Falcons also issued a statement explaining how the incident came to pass.
“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. 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 team’s statement said.
“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.”
The Falcons went on to say that 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