On the second night of the draft, Shedeur Sanders was waiting for a phone call from the team that would give him a shot to play in the NFL. He received a call from what appeared to be the New Orleans Saints—only to discover it wasn’t actually the Saints, but someone pretending to be them.
It quickly came to light that the person behind the call was Jax Ulbrich, son of new Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Both Jax and the Falcons issued apologies after the incident became public. Jax Ulbrich also revealed that he spoke directly with Sanders during the apology process.
“On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake. 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,” Ulbrich wrote.
Stephen A. Smith did not hold back his opinion, blasting Ulbrich.
“I sincerely hope he whipped his kid's a**. That's an a** whipping. That is a required a** whipping,” Smith said on air.
On Wednesday, the NFL announced its decision to fine the Falcons $350,000—$250,000 from the team and the remaining $100,000 from Jeff Ulbrich personally. Atlanta released a statement shortly after the ruling.
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"We appreciate the NFL's swift and thorough review of last week's data exposure and the event that transpired due to it. 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. 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. Additionally, the Ulbrich family is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week's matter."
The fines were issued for failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club ahead of the NFL Draft. The damage has been done, and now it’s time for all parties to move forward.