Key Takeaways
- Deion Sanders dismissed his subpoena in son Shilo Sanders’ bankruptcy trial as no distraction from Colorado football, saying, “When you’re ‘him,’ you get sued.”
- Deion defended Shilo’s self-defense claim and declared, “He already won this case,” as Shilo seeks to discharge an $11.89 million default judgment stemming from a 2015 school altercation.
- The Aug. 31–Sept. 4 trial could overlap with Colorado’s Sept. 3 opener against Georgia Tech, while the court considers whether Deion’s alleged pre-incident phone call with security guard John Darjean matters to the case.
Deion Sanders says the subpoena pulling him into son Shilo Sanders’ $11.89 million bankruptcy trial isn’t taking his attention away from Colorado football.
With the Buffaloes preparing to open their season against Georgia Tech on Sept. 3, Sanders addressed the legal drama Monday after a Boulder County sheriff’s deputy previously showed up on campus attempting to serve him with civil papers connected to Shilo’s case.
“Do you think that’s my first subpoena?” Sanders told reporters, according to The Associated Press. “When you have ‘it,’ when you’re ‘him,’ you get sued.”
Sanders went on to characterize legal headaches as something that comes with his profile. “I don’t know anyone that’s a game-changer, a way-maker, that is not dealing with some type of lawsuit,” he said.
The subpoena could still create a scheduling issue. Shilo Sanders’ bankruptcy trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 31 in Denver and could run through Sept. 4, overlapping directly with Colorado’s opener.
Judge Michael Romero previously acknowledged that problem in court, noting that Deion had been subpoenaed and that the timing could become an issue.
Deion, however, used Monday’s media availability to defend his son’s position in the underlying dispute.
“I can’t wait until it’s over and he gets to tell his story,” Sanders said. “He already won this case.”
The current proceeding stems from an $11.89 million default judgment awarded to former Dallas school security guard John Darjean. Darjean sued Shilo over a 2015 incident at school, alleging the then-15-year-old Sanders seriously injured him while Darjean was attempting to confiscate his cellphone.
Shilo has maintained that he acted in self-defense.
Darjean ultimately received the default judgment in 2022 after Shilo failed to appear for trial. When Darjean moved to collect, Shilo filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2023 and sought to discharge the debt.
That’s where the case stands now. Darjean is arguing that the judgment cannot be wiped away because the debt resulted from a “willful and malicious injury,” an exception under bankruptcy law. Shilo’s attorneys contend the confrontation was self-defense and therefore the judgment can be discharged.
Deion could be relevant to that argument even though he did not witness the altercation. Darjean has claimed he was trying to take Shilo’s phone at Deion’s direction, and Judge Romero previously said an alleged phone conversation between Deion and Darjean shortly before the incident “may be relevant.”
The bankruptcy battle isn’t Deion’s only court matter. He is also defending an unrelated federal lawsuit filed by designer Alan Tipp over the use of two “Prime” logos. Sanders’ attorney recently moved to dismiss that case, disputing Tipp’s claim that the designs were used without proper compensation.
