The NFL has announced that it will be talking action over the cruel draft day prank call to Shedeur Sanders.
The 23-year-old had been tipped by some – including his father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders – to be a top-five pick but he embarrassingly became the biggest shock of the draft as he slid not only out of the first round, but also the second, third and fourth.
And on Friday – the second day of the draft – his misery had been agonizingly compounded when his hopes were momentarily lifted only to be immediately crushed by a prank call.
Sanders later revealed that he had gotten a new phone with the specific intention of the draft, suggesting only NFL team executives had the number.
The revelation suggested that someone within one of the league’s 32 organizations had leaked the number, sparking speculation and fury
Now, the league has announced that it will be launching an investigation into how the brutal incident came to be, according to Pro Football Talk.
Shedeur Sanders was the victim of a cruel prank call during the NFL Draft Friday
A clip of the hoax was posted on social media on Saturday, as Sanders still waited to picked
Sanders’ wait for a new team stretched into Saturday afternoon, before the Cleveland Browns eventually took him in the fifth round with the 144th pick.
But he had thought his long slide had finally ended earlier when he received a call, purportedly from general manager of the New Orleans Saints, Mickey Loomis, on Friday.
Sanders was informed that he would be selected with New Orleans’ next pick, only to soon discover that the call was a hoax. ‘You’re going to have to wait a little longer,’ he was told.
On Saturday, a clip of the prank callers was posted on social media. It showed a young man – wearing an Ole Miss sweater – calling Sanders.
His friend, who was sitting nearby on the couch, was left open-mouthed and had to walk away after hearing Sanders answer.
‘This is Mickey Loomis here, the GM of the New Orleans Saints, how are you doing?’ the caller asked Sanders, who replied: ‘Good, I’ve been waiting on you’
The prankster continued: ‘It’s been a long wait, man, (but) we are going to take you as our next pick right here.’
After Sanders replied, ‘that would be legendary’, he is told ‘you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer, man. Sorry about that!’
Sanders endured a draft nightmare as he dramatically slid out of the first four rounds
The quarterback had been projected to be a top-five pick by some ahead of the draft
The caller then hung up, prompting hysterical laughter among his friends. ‘Oh my God, he bought it!’ one could be heard shouting.
Sanders was left looking puzzled before realizing that he was a victim of a prank call. The moment was caught on the quarterback’s livestream of his draft party, which was swiftly cut off following the humiliation.
How the pranksters managed to call Sanders is a mystery. The quarterback later revealed that he was using a ‘specific phone number’ that was ‘not in my name, not in anything.’
He explained: ‘Nobody had that number. The number was only in the email threat that the NFL sent out to only teams.’
Entering Friday night, many expected Sanders to be taken with the first pick of the second round by the Cleveland Browns. Instead, the Browns passed on him at picks 33 and 36.
Sanders was helpless as he watched three other quarterbacks selected ahead of him on Friday, including former Oregon signal caller Dillon Gabriel by the Browns.