Deion Sanders says Shilo already 'won' his case. The record says otherwise
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Colorado football coach Deion Sanders claimed in a news conference Aug. 24 that his son Shilo already “won” the case that forced him into bankruptcy with more than $11 million in debt and dismissed any notion that a subpoena to testify at his son’s looming bankruptcy trial is a distraction.
“You know Shilo won this case previously, right?” Sanders said to a reporter who asked him about it. “Anybody know that? Raise your hand if you know that, if you knew that, that Shilo got awarded money for this. OK… Just check it out. I can’t wait till it’s over and he gets to tell his story. He already won this case, you know? Yeah.”
That’s not true. Shilo Sanders filed for bankruptcy in 2023 because he lost a civil lawsuit in 2022. The man who sued him, John Darjean, won a $11.89 million judgment against him at a trial Shilo Sanders failed to attend.
He wouldn’t be in bankruptcy now if he had won that case. Deion Sanders made this same claim before, in 2024, when he told USA TODAY Sports Shilo previously “won” this case.
The claim is misleading at best. He appears to be referring to a confidential settlement Shilo Sanders reached with third parties in the case in 2019 after Shilo Sanders sued them — his school, Focus Learning Academy, and its founder, Leroy McClure. Such settlements often are reached to end expensive litigation, with no admission of liability. 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.”
That case had no bearing on his dispute with Darjean or his bankruptcy. Darjean is a former security guard at Sanders’ school who sued Shilo Sanders in 2016, accusing him of assaulting him and permanently injuring him when he tried to confiscate his phone at school in 2015 at Deion Sanders’ request.
The case didn’t go to trial in 2022, but when it did, Shilo Sanders didn’t show up for it, leading to a $11.89 million default judgment against him.
Deion Sanders discusses whether trial subpoena is a distraction
Shilo Sanders filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2023 in an effort to get out of the debt after Darjean moved to collect on it. The issue at trial now is whether Sanders is allowed to discharge that debt under the law. Darjean wants what he’s owed and says the debt should not be discharged because it stems from a “willful and malicious injury," which is a specific exception from discharging debt under the bankruptcy code. In his defense, Shilo Sanders’ attorneys say he acted in self-defense and should be entitled to a discharge.
Darjean’s attorney issued a subpoena requiring Deion Sanders to testify at the trial, which starts Aug. 31 and could last until Sept. 4. That conflicts with Colorado’s season opener at Georgia Tech Sept. 3. The team leaves for the game on Sept. 1.
“Is that a distraction?” Sanders said when asked Monday about the subpoena. “Dude, you think that's my first subpoena? Like, when you have it, when you him, when you that, you get sued. You have off-the-field foolishness that if someone really sat down and explained it to you, you would say, 'You got to be kidding.' But it is what it is. I don't know anyone that's a game changer, a way maker, that is not dealing with some type of lawsuit.”
Sanders’ attorney in Denver, Harvey Steinberg, has moved to quash the subpoena. But it's up to the judge in the case, Michael Romero, whether Sanders testifies and under what conditions. He could decide on that later this week.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deion Sanders says Shilo already 'won' his case. The record says otherwise
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