NEW YORK (Reuters) – The son of the Atlanta Falcons’ defensive coordinator apologized on Sunday for prank dialing quarterback Shedeur Sanders on the second day of the NFL Draft.
Footage circulated on Friday showing Sanders, who was once expected to go in the first round on Thursday but slipped into the fifth, taking a call from someone claiming to be the general manager of the Falcons’ division rivals New Orleans Saints.
The caller said the Saints had planned to take Sanders next in the draft but that the quarterback would have to “wait a little bit longer.”
Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of the Falcons’ defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, confessed to having been behind the phone call in an Instagram post on Sunday.
“On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake. Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful,” Ulbrich said.
“I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish.”
The NFL told Reuters it had been in contact with the Falcons and was looking into the matter.
Jax Ulbrich came across Sanders’ contact information on an open iPad while visiting his parents home and wrote the phone number down with the intention of conducting the prank call, the Falcons said in a widely reported statement.
The team added that their defensive coordinator had no knowledge of the data exposure.
“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 said.
“We have also been in contact with the NFL and will continue to cooperate fully with any inquiries we may receive from the NFL league office.”
Sanders, the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, ultimately went to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round as the 144th overall pick.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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