“They Might Punish the Dad”: Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson Get Real as Falcons DC’s Son Apologizes for Shedeur Sanders’ Prank Call

For all of the storylines that emerged from Shedeur Sanders’ draft day debacle, perhaps none are as petty as the prank phone call narrative. As the former Buffalo sat at home with his family, patiently waiting for his name to be called, he received a phone call from a pair of college students pretending to be the New Orleans Saints.

The video of the incident has since gone viral, revealing the identity of one of the pranksters to be the son of the Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich. Jax Ulbrich somehow found himself in possession of the contact information that was supposed to be kept for team personnel only, and opted to use that information to pull off a prank that many believed to be in poor taste.

While these kinds of draft day antics are anything but new, given the high profile of the player that was involved, potential punishments are now being considered. During the most recent episode of their Nightcap podcast, Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson alluded to just that while reacting to the news.

In light of Ulbrich posting a formal apology to social media, Sharpe pondered what a possible punishment would even look like.

“I don’t know how they can punish the son, they might punish the dad. Do they get docked a draft pick? If you were to punish the Falcons, how do you punish them? Should they be punished first? If you are going to punish them, what should the punishment be?”

Considering that team officials are entrusted with keeping certain bits of information under lock and key, a future punishment may very well be in line for the defensive coordinator. However, the former Cincinnati Bengal didn’t believe that a harmless prank warranted a punishment for the franchise as a whole.

As far as the apology on social media is concerned, Johnson wasn’t buying that either.

“The punishment should come for the dad, maybe a fine of some sort. I think draft picks would be a little too much, because the team itself, as a whole, shouldn’t have to suffer for what the son decided to do. Outside of that, the apology seems sincere being that it was written from someone else. It’s a bunch of you know what. Did he really mean it? No.”

Seeing as the prank was filmed and subsequently posted to social media, Ulbrich’s son essentially did nothing to hide his identity. Nevertheless, Johnson maintained that he believed “The fact that he got caught is the only reason he’s apologizing.”

Unfortunately, this kind of stunt isn’t uncommon. The Philadelphia Eagles’ rookie sensation, Cooper DeJean, received a similar prank call during his draft day process.

The prank has essentially become an unfortunate tradition in a modern day where information is more readily accessible than ever before. Suffice to say, it’s been a low-brow joke for decades.

Prank calls have their place in the world, but tormenting a young athlete by teasing their hopes and dreams seems rather uncalled for. Considering the unprecedented nature of Sanders’ slide in the draft, it’s certainly not a good look for the Falcons.