By Charles Odum/AP
The Atlanta Falcons have been fined $250,000 and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been fined $100,000 as a result of Ulbrich’s son participating in a prank call to Shedeur Sanders during the NFL draft.
The NFL confirmed the fines on Wednesday for the roles the Falcons and Ulbrich played in failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club ahead of the draft.
The Falcons, who disclosed the role of Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son Jax in the prank call as the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was waiting for his name to be called in the draft, said they accept the discipline from the league.
Earlier this week, the Falcons revealed 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.”
Though Jax Ulbrich provided the number, he was sitting beside an unidentified friend who actually made the call to Sanders.
The Falcons said Jeff Ulbrich was unaware of the data exposure or the prank until after the fact. They offered “sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family” in their statement, and Jax Ulbrich also posted a public apology on social media.
At a news conference, Jeff Ulbrich apologized to Shedeur Sanders, his family, Falcons owner Arthur Blank and the rest of the organization.
“My actions — my actions — of not protecting confidential data were inexcusable," Ulbrich said. "My son's actions were absolutely inexcusable, and for that we are both deeply sorry. The NFL has taken action and I fully respect the punishment. We take full responsibility, my son and myself, and we will not be appealing the fine in any way. Going forward I promise my son and I will work hard to demonstrate we are better than this.”
In the call, Jax Ulbrich's friend 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. “... 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.”
Jax Ulbrich apologized to Sanders on Sunday for what he called “a tremendous mistake.”
“Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing and shameful,” he wrote on social media. “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.”
The Falcons said in a statement that they appreciated the NFL's “swift and thorough review” of the matter.
“We were proactive in addressing the situation internally and cooperated fully with the league throughout the process, and accept the discipline levied to Coach Jeff Ulbrich and the organization," the statement said. "We are confident in our security policies and practices and will continue to emphasize adherence to them with our staff whether on or off premises.”
The Falcons also said the Ulbrich family “is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week’s matter."
On Sunday, the Falcons said in a statement that 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.”
Jax Ulbrich was sitting beside an unidentified friend who actually made the call to Sanders on Friday, the second day of the draft. Sanders, a standout quarterback from Colorado, is the son of Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders, who began his NFL career with the Falcons.
Sanders, who entered the draft expecting to be a first-round pick, was selected Saturday in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.
The Falcons said Jeff Ulbrich was unaware of the data exposure or the prank until after the fact. He said he made the Falcons aware of the situation and then got hold of the Sanders family to apologize.
“The Sanders family, Shedeur and Coach Sanders, were amazingly gracious. More gracious than they needed to be in a moment like this,” Ulbrich said.
The team also offered “sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family.” And Jax Ulbrich posted a public apology on social media.
The NFL continues to investigate prank calls made to other players during the NFL draft. The Associated Press reported Tuesday the call to Shedeur Sanders wasn’t related to the other prank calls.
Abdul Carter, Tyler Warren, Kyle McCord, Mason Graham and Chase Lundt also have reported receiving prank calls.
AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Florida, contributed to this report.
