- Shilo Sanders faces multiple legal issues, including a pending bankruptcy case and a lawsuit over unpaid legal bills.
- The bankruptcy stems from an $11 million judgment against him for an alleged assault in 2015.
- Deion Sanders also mentioned his own health struggles and his team’s disappointing season.
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders said Thursday Nov. 20 that his son Shilo is getting sued for “something he didn’t even do” – a rare public comment from the father about his son’s recent legal troubles.
Sanders brought it up on the ‘Colorado Football Coaches Show’ before his team faces Arizona State at home Nov. 22. But it’s not clear which of the recent legal issues Sanders was referencing in regard to Shilo Sanders, a former Colorado safety.
Shilo, 25, was sued by a law firm Nov. 17 for allegedly not paying more than $164,000 in bills and interest. Other legal issues have dogged Shilo recently and are still pending, including his bankruptcy proceedings.
Deion Sanders mentioned it after the show’s host, Mark Johnson, asked if this has been a difficult year for him. Sanders replied that it’s been a “trying” year and then cited issues facing his children and himself.
“You got to understand now, I got a son that’s fighting for an opportunity (in the NFL),” Sanders said of his youngest son Shedeur. “I got another son (Shilo) who’s getting sued by it’s something he didn’t even do. I got a daughter (Shelomi) who’s fighting for minutes on a basketball in Alabama A&M. I’ve got another daughter (Deiondra) who’s fighting back and forth with (her) baby’s father over custody. I got a mother who somedays may not even recognize what it is.”
Deion Sanders says ‘some days I’m peeing blood’
Sanders also mentioned his team’s disappointing 3-7 season, as well as his own recovery from having a cancerous bladder removed in May. He said sometimes he urinates blood.
“And then you got a team that’s not winning that should have won,” Sanders said. “And you got certain situations in life, and I ain’t even got to my health. You know, some days I’m peeing blood. Some days I’m not. But that’s no excuse to do what you’ve been called to do. So I don’t make excuses. But it’s always a lot on your plate. So never think someone’s plate is clean.”
Shilo Sanders’ legal issues remain pending
The legal issues facing Shilo remain in dispute. But a civil court in Dallas issued a default judgment against him for more than $11 million in 2022. That money is owed by Shilo to a former security guard at his school in Dallas, John Darjean, who sued him in 2016. Darjean alleged in that case that Shilo caused him to have severe and permanent injuries when he swung a roundhouse elbow and punched him at school in 2015, when Shilo was 15 years old.
In response, Shilo filed counterclaims against Darjean and the school. He claimed he acted in self-defense. But he didn’t show up for the trial in 2022, leading to the default judgment against him. Then when Darjean tried to collect on that judgment, Shilo filed for bankruptcy in October 2023 in an effort to get out of that debt.
Other agencies investigated the Shilo Sanders case
Several agencies and institutions looked into the incident with Darjean, with none favoring Shilo, as found by USA TODAY Sports last year. A day after the incident, Shilo was taken to juvenile detention center following a separate incident at school, according to court records. Meanwhile, Darjean underwent spinal surgery.
The incident from 2015 is now being litigated in bankruptcy court to determine whether Shilo acted willfully and maliciously when he hit Darjean. If the court finds that he did act willfully and maliciously, his $11 million debt will not be discharged and he will remain on the hook to pay it to Darjean. If the court favors Shilo instead, he could get out of that debt with relatively minimal damage to his bank account.
‘Did you know Shilo won?’
When a USA TODAY Sports reporter asked Deion Sanders about the bankruptcy case last year, Sanders encouraged the reporter to investigate the case, which he did.
Sanders also asked the reporter then, “Did you know Shilo won?”
After being asked for clarification on that, Sanders didn’t respond.
It’s not clear what case Sanders thinks Shilo Sanders “won,” because he lost the personal injury lawsuit, in court, and his bankruptcy case remains pending more than a year later.
In 2019, Shilo did reach a confidential settlement with third parties that Shilo countersued in the case – his school, Focus Learning Academy, and its founder, Leroy McClure. Such settlements often are reached to end expensive litigation, with no admission of liability. But the judge noted the settlement and dismissal of those particular claims “does not affect any other pending claims, including but not limited to those claims by Plaintiff John Darjean.”
Shilo is now pursuing various interests after being waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the season as an undrafted free agent.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com