Jeff Ulbrich’s second stint with the Atlanta Falcons has gotten off to a rough start.
His son, Jax Ulbrich, sparked controversy after he retrieved Sheduer Sanders’ phone number from his father’s computer at some point before last week’s NFL Draft.
Jax then dialed the number to prank call Sanders during the draft.
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On Wednesday, the NFL fined the Falcons $250,000. Ulbrich, the Falcons’ defensive coordinator, was issued a $100,000 fine. Ulbrich admitted the past few days have been “difficult” on a personal level, but he took full responsibility for failing to secure the number.
SEVERAL NFL DRAFT PROSPECTS FALL VICTIM TO PRANK CALLS UNRELATED TO SHEDEUR SANDERS PRANK: REPORT
“It’s something that I brought upon myself and my son brought upon himself, so it’s one of those things where we got to take this on the chin. And we absolutely are doing that and taking full responsibility, and I’m hopeful we’ll grow and be better because of it,” Ulbrich said during a news conference Wednesday.
Ulbrich said he was unaware his son was responsible for the prank call until after the draft, but he was “shocked” when he did learn of the development. The assistant Falcons coach then made the team aware of the situation and said Sheduer and his father, Deion Sanders, a legendary former Atlanta Falcons star, were “amazingly gracious” once he contacted them.
“Obviously not happy and shocked,” Ulbrich told reporters. “So, I made the Falcons aware of the situation. And our next course of action was to try to get ahold of the Sanders family so we could apologize in person, which we were able to do.”
The NFL said the punishment stemmed from a failure “to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft.”
The Cleveland Browns selected Sanders in the fifth round Saturday. Shortly after the selection, Sanders took to social media to share a short but emotional message: “Thank you GOD.”
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