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Jax Ulbrich row: Shedeur Sanders to Tyler Warren – List of NFL draft prospects who received prank calls
NFL Draft rocked by multiple prank calls – Targeting top prospects like Sanders and Warren, raises security concerns. Ulbrich apologises after mishap.
While live-streaming his National Football League (NFL) Draft watch party on April 25, Shedeur Sanders received a call from someone claiming to be the representative of the New Orleans Saints. Impersonating the Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis, the caller revealed it was a prank and ended the call abruptly. It raised concerns among the NFL administration as the call was made to a phone that was provided to Sanders by the NFL for official draft communications.
Several other top NFL Draft prospects also reported receiving prank calls during the draft weekend. The NFL launched an investigation regarding the calls to determine whether a leak of private contact information of the players had occurred.
ALSO READ: Tyler Warren received a Shedeur Sanders-like prank call during NFL Draft; disturbing details emerge
What was the prank call to Sanders about?
During Sanders’ live stream, he answered the call and placed it on speakerphone so that everyone watching could also hear it. He engaged with the imposter, who assured him that he would be picked next for the drafts. After the caller revealed that the call was a prank, Sanders was left confused and doubtful. Moments later, the Saints selected Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough instead.
ALSO READ: Will Falcons fire Jeff Ulbrich after son Jax's prank-calling saga? NFL side makes decision
“It didn’t really have an impact on me because it was just like, I mean, okay, like I don’t feed into negativity or I don’t feed into that stuff. You’ve seen [it on the] 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,” Sanders told NBC Sports.
NFL’s response
As per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL is actively investigating how Sanders’ private draft phone number was compromised. Sanders explained to his brother Shilo Sanders that the number was only shared in an email thread that was sent exclusively to NFL teams and he also speculated that perhaps the child of an NFL executive might have accessed the contact information.
Who is behind this?
Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, admitted to prank calling Sanders after finding the draft information – including Sanders’ contact number – on his father’s unlocked iPad. Jax later apologised on April 27 by writing a social media story saying that he “made a tremendous mistake” and that it was “selfish and childish.”
The Falcons released a statement regarding this mishap, explaining how Ulbrich came into possession of Sanders’ private phone number. The 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.”
Were there other prank calls?
As reported by Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports, former Penn State tight end Tyler Warren also received a prank call during the draft. Schultz added that Warren’s team believes that it was the same number that was involved in the Shedeur Sanders prank on April 25. However, Jax Ulbrich only took responsibility of the Sanders prank call – not any other player’s.
On top of that, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com also adds that there was a third player who received a prank call during the draft – outside of Sanders and Warren. The third prospect got a call about half-an-hour after being drafted and was told that he was being traded.
Kyle McCord of the Philadelphia Eagles and Chase Lundt of the Buffalo Bills were also targeted with prank calls on the draft day as well.
Lundt reported that he got around “4 to 5 calls” from people pretending to be team representatives, while McCord said, “I got a few prank calls earlier in the day from 609 numbers and 215 numbers. When I got that 215 call, I was thinking it was just another prank call. But picking up the phone and having Howie [Roseman] on the other side was pretty cool.” Roseman is the executive vice president of the Eagles.
