After Shedeur Sanders was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, his delayed drafting left football fans confused. But it was what happened before Sanders’ special moment that had the internet even more enraged.
Fans are calling for 21-year-old Jax Ulbrich, the son of Atlanta Falcons’ defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who helped prank Sanders, to be reprimanded. And Stephen A. Smith has just the solution.
During an episode of “First Take” on April 28, Smith had a message for Jax’s father. “To Jeff Ulbrich, I sincerely hope he whipped his kid’s ass. That’s an ass whipping,” Smith began. “That is a required ass whipping.”
“See, it’s not criminal. But it’s unethical, it’s classless, it’s amoral to some degree. I’d like to see the face of that kid because sometimes you need to be embarrassed. First of all, it was cruel and classless to Shedeur [and] it jeopardized your dad,” Smith added, defending the father who he thinks was genuinely unaware of his son’s actions. “Your dad could’ve lost his job! And because you wanna prank somebody, and be cruel and insensitive knowing what Shedeur could’ve been going through, you would be some privileged little brat to do something like that!”
The prank caller, who was one of Jax’s friends, posed as Mickey Loomis, the New Orleans Saints’ general manager. “It’s been a long wait, man,” the person said, which was captured on Sanders’ draft livestream. “We’re going to take you with our next pick, man, but you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer, man. Sorry about that.”
Jax’s father, who was only on his first season with the Falcons, won’t face any disciplinary actions because his son “unintentionally” came across Sanders’ number on an “open iPad while visiting his parents’ home,” per the team’s statement. Jax also apologized for his “tremendous mistake” on social media, admitting his actions were “completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful. I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish. I could never imagine getting ready to celebrate one of the greatest moments of your life and I made a terrible mistake and messed with that moment. [...] I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”