Colorado starting safety Shilo Sanders' legal troubles are under scrutiny as a nearly decade-long saga continues to unfold. Sanders, the 24-year-old son of Buffaloes head coach and Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last October following a Texas court ruling against him. for nearly $12 million in damages owed to a former security. guard at his Dallas high school after an alleged assault.
According to Texas and Colorado court records obtained and reviewed this week by The AthleticJohn Darjean alleged that Sanders, then 15 years old, assaulted Darjean during an altercation at Triple A Academy in 2015, leaving Darjean with cervical spine damage and permanent neurological problems. Sanders has claimed in court records that it was Darjean who was the aggressor.
Sanders' bankruptcy filing has called into question his personal net worth in an era in college sports when athletes can cash in on name, image and likeness rights.
Darjean and his lawyers claim in court papers that Sanders failed to properly disclose his assets when he filed for bankruptcy. They are still trying to collect the $11.89 million judgment he was ordered to pay after a March 2022 civil trial in a Texas district court ruled in Darjean's favor. Sanders did not appear at trial and claims in court documents that he could not afford legal representation at the time, was never notified of the new trial dates and did not learn of the default judgment until 2023.
According to court documents from April 2020, his former attorneys met with Drew in the case because Sanders informed them “that he is unwilling or unable to continue funding the defense of this case.” Sanders' bankruptcy filings in Colorado note that he is a graduate student seeking a “new start in life.”
Shilo Sanders appeared in the Louis Vuitton Menswear Ready-to-wear Fall-Winter 2024/2025 collection as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 1. December 16, 2024. (Alain Jocard / AFP via Getty Images)
This week, Sanders and his attorneys filed a motion in a Dallas-area court to seal 21 court records dating back to August 2017 that they claim contain “sensitive and confidential information” related to Sanders. The motion claimed that Darjean has been violating the initial protective order established in 2018 on various social media platforms in recent years, as part of an ongoing dispute over what information should be kept secret since Sanders was a minor at the time. time of the incident.
This April, Darjean appeared on “Fearless with Jason Whitlock” during a 90 minutes interview in which he details his side of the story and includes video testimony from Deion Sanders. Darjean alleged that a former school administrator “stole” surveillance footage of the altercation and gave it to Deion Sanders. Former Cowboys star cornerback he told TMZ in 2016 that Darjean was “a scammer in real life.”
A spokesperson for the University of Colorado said Wednesday that the university, as well as Deion and Shilo Sanders, “will reserve comment as the litigation continues.” Lawyers for Sanders and Darjean did not respond to requests for comment.
The alleged assault
Video obtained by TMZ in 2016 shows the first stages of the altercation and alleged assault on September 17, 2015. Darjean approaches Sanders on the school basketball court and grabs Sanders' right arm. Sanders shakes off the attempt before the video cuts to a fight taking place in the distance as he spills out into the school lobby.
Both sides claim the dispute had to do with Sanders speaking on the phone, which was against school policy, with his mother, Pilar. Darjean's lawsuit claims Sanders attacked him by elbowing him in the neck and chest before punching Darjean several more times in the same area, calling the attack “sudden, unexpected, unprovoked.”
According to bankruptcy court filings in February, Sanders' version of the story is markedly different. He claims Darjean became too physical with the teen. Sanders said Darjean pinned him against a wall for more than a minute and he couldn't move. The school's principal, Ruda Nash, witnessed the ordeal and was one of several staff members who attempted to remove Darjean from Sanders, according to Sanders. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services received a written statement from Nash, who said Darjean grabbed Sanders by the neck before throwing him to the ground. After they finally broke up, Sanders dialed 911, according to Nash.
Beyond dissenting claims about what happened, Deion Sanders and Darjean knew each other before the incident. Darjean, a former pitcher in the New York Yankees organization, coached youth baseball in the community. Deion Sanders also served as head football coach at Triple A Academy for two seasons in 2015 and 2016. In his interview on Whitlock's show in April, Darjean claims that Deion Sanders called him personally to take Shilo's phone away due to his disdain for Pilar, his ex-wife. They divorced in 2013.
In June 2016, Darjean first filed the lawsuit against Deion, Pilar and Shilo in Dallas District Court alleging their “serious and permanent injuries.” Deion Sanders was eventually dropped from the lawsuit in January 2019.
“I tried to contact him, he didn't come visit me at the hospital, he didn't say, 'Hey, I know my son did you wrong,'” Darjean said on Whitlock's show. “He changed the script and sent a video to TMZ and said that I was the aggressor and that he had attacked his son.”
A year later, in June 2017, Darjean filed a defamation lawsuit against Deion Sanders over Sanders' comments to TMZ. The case would ultimately be dismissed for lack of prosecution in February 2019.
HAS Youtube channel titled “Prime Time for The Truth” was created in November 2021. It previously had a video of Deion Sanders' statement, but it has since been deleted. HAS separate youtube video was made a month ago asking for donations to a GoFundMe account that claims Darjean's medical bills have exceeded $900,000 and Sanders has yet to complete his payments. He has received $150 of the $800,000 goal.
Collection of judgment and NIL
Darjean and his attorneys allege in bankruptcy court that Sanders has not been transparent about all of his assets stemming from the NIL lawsuit.
Sanders, who began his college career at South Carolina before transferring to play for his father at Jackson State and eventually Colorado, has been part of high-profile NIL deals as the Buffs under Deion Sanders became one of the biggest stories. important in sports.
Shilo recently appeared in a cameo on the hit Starz show “BMF,” in which he played her father. In January, Shilo and his brother Shedeur, Colorado's starting quarterback, walked the runway in Paris for the Louis Vuitton fall-winter show. He has appeared in Google commercials alongside Shedeur and has starred in marketing campaigns alongside his father and brothers for Kentucky Fried Chicken and Oikos yogurt.
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In his bankruptcy filing in Colorado court last year, Sanders revealed that he had a gross income of $193,713 in 2023, while he earned $216,950 the year before in his final season at Jackson State. He also showed his obligations, mainly the 2022 court ruling, estimated at $11.3 million. Among the assets claimed from him is a 2023 Mercedes GLE valued at $75,900. Necklaces valued at $75,000 were later removed as assets.
Court documents say Darjean has alleged that Sanders is worth more than the $320,000 declared in his bankruptcy filing; He believes Sanders transferred money to one of his two LLCs, Big 21 and SS21.
“It is Shilo's NIL value and/or public value that is the source of the continued paid interactions and appearances on social media,” reads Darjean's complaint, according to Westword, a Denver-based independent publication that Sanders' bankruptcy case was first reported on May 24. and I downloaded the presentation before it was sealed this month. “The entire foundation of the NIL concept is the value of the individual athlete, but Shilo decided to not only hide the value of the entire NIL effort with the 'unknown' listings of the two entities that were revealed (Big 21 LLC and/or SS21 LLC) , but also Shilo intentionally did not identify or disclose his individual NIL ownership interest anywhere in the exhibits.”
Sanders' attorneys disputed the claim, noting that the transcript of Sanders' meeting with creditors makes clear that his NIL agreements were always made with Big 21, LLC and were therefore part of the assets in the estate estimate. claimed by Sanders.
“This allegation is based on pure conjecture and media 'hype', with no basis in fact or reality,” Sanders' lawyers wrote.
Sanders has filed a motion for summary judgment, which has also been sealed by the judge. If granted, Darjean would not be able to collect the judgment in Texas. Darjean's lawyer last week filed a request to extend the response deadline until June 24.
(Top photo: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
