The Atlanta Falcons said Sunday that defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s son was responsible for a prank call made to Cleveland Browns draft pick Shedeur Sanders, Charles Odum of The Associated Press reports.
The Falcons released a statement saying 21-year-old Jax 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 Falcons said Jeff Ulbrich was unaware of the data exposure or the prank until after the fact.
Sanders, a standout quarterback from Colorado, is the son of Buffaloes coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who began his NFL career with the Falcons.
In the call, Jax Ulbrich identified himself as New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and told Sanders he had been drafted by the Saints before ending the call.
“It didn’t really have no impact on me because it was just like, OK. I don’t feed into negativity or I don’t feed into that stuff,” Sanders said Saturday after being drafted by Cleveland. “... This is what it is. I think, of course, it’s childish, of course I feel like it was a childish act, but everybody do childish things here and there.”
The Falcons apologized to Sanders and his family and said they were facilitating an apology directly from Jax Ulbrich to the family.
“We are thoroughly reviewing all protocols, and updating if necessary, to help prevent an incident like this from happening again,” the Falcons said.
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