Sports
‘Deion knew how bad Shilo was’: Assault accuser blames Deion Sanders for murky details behind Shilo’s bankruptcy filing
Shilo Sanders, University of Colorado football star and son of Deion Sanders, has been under scrutiny since filing for bankruptcy last October following a $11.8 million judgment for allegedly assaulting a former Texas highschool security guard.
But the bankruptcy case appears to have raised serious questions on Sanders’ funds and where he keeps his assets, fueling the alleged victim’s theory that he was attempting to shirk his responsibilities.
Sanders’ latest legal troubles stem from her alleged involvement within the 2015 assault of John Darjean, a highschool security guard at Focus Academies in Dallas, Texas.
According to court documents obtained by Sanders, Darjean claims he was attacked by Sanders, who was a student on the time, while confronting him over a cellphone. Western Word.
Darjean’s conflict appears to have been sparked by a phone call Shilo comprised of the college office to his mother, Deion Sanders’ ex-wife Pilar Sanders, after the teenager had been brought there for disrupting the classroom. Although the college is believed to have had a strict no-phone policy, Shilo apparently called his mother and in some unspecified time in the future Deion, who had been contacted in regards to the situation, was made aware of the phone call and ordered Darjean to confiscate his son’s device.
According to the case files, Deion told Darjean: “You are my brother in Christ. You must go get the phone… as soon as you get his call, call me back.
When Darjean tried to seize the device on Coach Prime’s orders, the safety guard stated that an alleged robbery had taken place.
The following 12 months, in 2016, a lawsuit was filed during which the victim claimed that because of this of the incident, she suffered “serious and permanent injuries, including a broken neck, cervical spine damage, permanent neurological injuries and irreversible urinary incontinence.”
When the alleged assault occurred, Shilo’s father, Deion, was the CEO of Focus Academies and the pinnacle football coach at Focus’ highschool, Triple A Academy. Shilo Sanders later attended and graduated from Trinity Christian High School in Lubbock, Texas.
However, Darjean not only blames Coach Prime for putting him in a life-threatening situation, but additionally claims that the 56-year-old father did every little thing in his power to assist his son avoid his responsibilities – including claiming that Darjean provoked the incident.
In an April 2024 interview on Jason Whitlock’s “Fearless” podcast, Darjean said: “Deion all the time talks about how, ‘Man, I’m attempting to teach these kids how to maintain rising to the highest within the name of Jesus, and how be responsible. And he steals movies. he put me on TMZ and altered his story. I don’t need to sit down man to man.
Darjean refers to: TMZ article from 2016 during which Deion Sanders released an announcement and video alleging that Darjean used “unnecessary force” to secure Shilo’s cellphone.
“Please watch this video which shows that he was the aggressor, not my son, and that AFTER THE CASE WAS OVER, there was nothing wrong with him. This adult male was watching over my son Shilo throughout the entire interaction,” Sanders said. “I DON’T KNOW HOW HE CAN LOOK HIS CHILDREN IN THE EYES AFTER THAT LIE, BUT I FORGIVE HIM since the pressures of life will make some people do things they never dreamed of. GOD BLESS.”
Darjean claims the footage sent to TMZ was taken out of context, claiming that only a brief portion of the clip was distorted. But when the try to shift blame failed, Darjean says Deion removed himself from the equation entirely.
Darjean sued Shilo, Pilar and Deion. However, Deion mysteriously managed to flee from the suit. Darjean said he wasn’t sure how Deion managed to get his name removed.
“I don’t know what happened,” he told Whitlock throughout the hearing. “If I could have talked to my lawyer presently, I might have said, ‘What happened? How did he get out of it? And why didn’t you file an appeal? It’s a bit weird that you simply’re withdrawing and Deion is sneaking away. This is absolutely strange to me. Therefore, the lawsuit is directed against Pilar and Shilo Sanders; I actually have a verdict, $11.8 million. However, I do know that I’m coping with someone with plenty of power and he’ll do every little thing in his power.
However, documents filed by Darjean’s attorney show that Deion’s 2017 deposition was interrupted after the Pro Football Hall of Fame questioned the road of questioning. The two-time Super Bowl winner ultimately won summary judgment against Darjean, which resulted in his name being faraway from the lawsuit until January 2019.
Darjean says that Deion, as a father, is in charge for his son’s actions, and adds: “Deion knew how bad Shilo was because he had been sent to a juvenile jail again and again before for running away, entering into trouble, fighting and every kind of brawls. things. So Deion knew his son was very offended. I knew nothing about Shilo Sanders. I mean, I probably saw him on TV a couple of times, but I could not sustain with Shilo Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Pilar. So I didn’t know what variety of person he was.
Darjean recalls that on the day of the incident, Deion described his son as “out of control”.
Although the incident occurred in 2015 and the lawsuit was filed in 2016, as a result of the notoriously slow legal system, the case didn’t come to court until 2022. USA Today Report.that the court experienced some difficulty in locating Sanders and serving him a summons for the hearing. The notice was ultimately sent to an invalid address in South Carolina, but Sanders had already transferred from the University of South Carolina to Jackson State to play football under his father. Therefore, Sanders likely never received notice and ultimately missed his trial date. Because Sanders was not readily available to dispute Darjean’s version of events, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, awarding him $11.89 million.
In October 2023, Shilo Sanders filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The 24-year-old football star likely made the financial decision to discharge the debt resulting from the multi-million dollar judgment. However, it’s unclear whether, as he hopes, he’ll give you the chance to make use of the bankruptcy court to discharge the debt.
Unfortunately, Sanders couldn’t depend on the recommendation of his lawyers because he had not been represented since April 2020. This also signifies that Sanders didn’t have an attorney who could receive notice of the hearing and attend Darjean’s trial on his behalf. After April 2020, Shilo’s lawyers asked to withdraw from the case after their client, Shilo, who was a student on the time, informed them that he was “unwilling or unable to continue to fund the defense of this case.”
It’s unclear when Sanders retained representation after his original attorneys withdrew, but his current attorney claimed his client first learned of the decision in 2023.
Unfortunately, the bankruptcy case for Shilo is becoming increasingly more complicated.
When Shilo filed for bankruptcy, he claimed his personal assets were just over $300,000. However, the lawsuit raised questions on whether the faculty football star was being honest about his income or was simply attempting to avoid paying off the debt.
Declaring bankruptcy normally means the discharge of your debts. “People can discharge debts in bankruptcy to provide relief to an honest but unfortunate debtor,” Angela Littwin, a bankruptcy expert and law professor on the University of Texas, told USA Today. However, there are exceptions to this rule, certainly one of which incorporates “intentional and malicious bodily harm.” So Darjean’s insistence on collecting money from the decision is prone to muddy the waters.
Playing in Colorado under his Hall of Fame father is at the very least partially responsible for Shilo’s increased visibility, which has helped him land deals with major brands like Google, Starz and EA Sports. Darjean became convinced that Shilo was using corporations he owned to guard his NIL earnings, namely Big 21 LLC and SS21 LLC.
Darjean’s lawyers have previously pointed to clothes from high-end fashion houses that Sanders often wore.
“Contrary to schedule, Shilo admitted to purchasing vast amounts of high-end and expensive clothing,” reads the lawsuit filed by lawyers, in line with Westword. “For example, on his YouTube channel posted on May 4, 2023, he states, “Okay, we at the Louis (Vuitton) store are trying to spend at least $50,000 today.”
Also, in line with Darjean’s lawyers, Sanders didn’t declare $477,881 in assets, including $300,000 in a Robinhood account, $8,000 in a Wells Fargo account or anything from his NIL projects. Sanders reportedly didn’t disclose his income on at the very least 32 occasions.
No one from the Sanders camp commented on the matter.