Not their fault this time, but Falcons can’t escape embarrassment

A day after completing a draft that delighted its fans to a rare degree and gave them hope for the season ahead, the team had to issue a news release explaining that Jax came upon the private draft-contact number of Shedeur Sanders on his father’s open iPad and wrote it down for the purposes of prank calling him.

Friday, on the second day of the draft, Sanders took a call from someone claiming to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, who informed Sanders that the team was going to take him with its next pick. After having expected to be taken in the first round, Sanders was obviously elated that his wait was over. In time, he realized he’d been had. (In reality, Sanders ultimately had to wait until the fifth round before the Cleveland Browns selected him.)

Video of the call circulated on social media. It turned out to be a prank, the work of Jax Ulbrich, who is listed on the Berry College athletics website as a member of the Vikings football team.

The NFL opened an investigation into how Sanders’ number got leaked, leading to statements from the Falcons and Ulbrich offering their apologies to Sanders and his family. (In a social-media post, Ulbrich called his actions “completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful” and thanked Sanders for accepting his call.)

Is it the worst crime that someone can commit?

Of course not, but anyone with a heart can recognize it’s a pretty cruel stunt to pull on someone.

Have we all done stuff we’re embarrassed about, particularly in college?

Obviously.

Is this the responsibility of the Falcons or Jeff Ulbrich?

No, and Ulbrich will not be disciplined by the team.

But does it reflect on the Falcons and owner Arthur Blank, whose franchise has a growing collection of embarrassing moments?

Fairly or not, yes.

Simply, the Falcons just don’t need this. They don’t need to be issuing another statement volunteering its willingness to cooperate with the league office.

It’s a posture the club has had to adopt more than it would like in recent months. The franchise was fined in 2023 for violating the league’s injury reporting policy. Last year, it was fined and also docked a draft pick for tampering with Kirk Cousins, Darnell Mooney and Charlie Woerner in free agency before signing them last offseason – the result of an investigation that was opened after Cousins unwittingly indicted the team in his introductory news conference by saying he had spoken with team employees during the negotiation period when such contact is prohibited.

If the Falcons were a model franchise that went to the playoffs consistently, it would be easier to laugh about and dismiss. But, given that the Falcons have missed the playoffs seven seasons in a row (tied for the second longest active streak) and actually have been subject to league investigations, it only adds to the picture of a franchise that continually trips over itself.

The hard-to-make-up part is that the victim was the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who happens to be in the Falcons’ ring of honor. For it to be the son of one of the greatest Falcons of all time is quite a detail.

Maybe Jax Ulbrich would have been better off punking the son of Sean Payton, hated former Saints coach.

The only winner here appears to be Apple, which got an unexpected endorsement in the Falcons’ statement even as the NFL has a contract with Microsoft to supply the league with tablets for use on game day.

The Falcons will hope that this blows over and that this is the year that destiny finally calls.

Or maybe it’ll be Jax Ulbrich.