FOUL PLAY

NFL Punishes Falcons With Huge Fine for Brutal Sanders Prank

Falcons’ defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s son made a savage prank-call to Shedeur Sanders during the NFL draft Friday.

The NFL has slapped the Atlanta Falcons with a $250,000 fine and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich with a separate $100,000 penalty after Ulbrich’s son pulled a prank on Shedeur Sanders during the NFL draft. Jax Ulbrich, 21, and his friend prank-called Sanders on Friday, impersonating Saints GM Mickey Loomis and falsely telling him he’d been drafted by the team. The prank, which was filmed and quickly went viral, hit even harder given that Sanders—long projected as a first round pick—had to wait three agonizing days before the Cleveland Browns finally picked him at No. 144 on Saturday. Even President Donald Trump weighed in during the draft, calling NFL owners “stupid” for not picking Sanders. In an apology posted to Instagram, Jax wrote, “Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful. I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish.” The Falcons said in a statement, “we appreciate the NFL’s swift and thorough review of last week’s data exposure and the event that transpired due to it,” adding that, “the Ulbrich family is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives.” Sanders told reporters that while he thought the prank was “childish,” it didn’t bother him, according to ESPN. “It didn’t really have an impact on me,” Sanders said, “because it was just like, I don’t feed into negativity.”