Deion Sanders called to testify in son Shilo’s bankruptcy fight over $11 million debt

The trial begins Aug. 31, just days before Colorado opens its football season against Georgia Tech.

Deion Sanders is being called to testify in a Denver courtroom during the same week his team opens its season 1,300 miles away.

USA TODAY reported that attorney Harvey Steinberg accepted service of a subpoena on the Colorado coach’s behalf via email, according to a court filing entered Aug. 19. The document commands Sanders to appear at his son Shilo’s bankruptcy trial, which begins Aug. 31 and is expected to run roughly five days. The Buffaloes depart for Georgia on Sept. 1 and face Georgia Tech on Sept. 3.

Getting the papers to him took some doing. ESPN, citing the Associated Press, reported that a Boulder County sheriff’s deputy arrived on campus at 10:22 a.m. on Aug. 11 during an open practice and was told Sanders was unavailable.

Sheriff’s spokesperson Carrie Haverfield pushed back on any suggestion of interference, saying university staff were actively helping the deputy find a workable time and that multiple attempts are routine in civil service. The paperwork was ultimately transferred to Denver, where Sanders’ counsel is based.

Whether Steinberg moves to quash the subpoena remains to be seen, and that decision would rest with Judge Michael Romero, who has previously acknowledged the timing conflict while noting Sanders may have relevant testimony.

One legal expert doubts a football game clears the bar. Mechele Dickerson, a University of Texas law professor, told USA TODAY she’s unsure why needing to go to work would justify quashing a subpoena, pointing out that nearly every reluctant witness has a job.

The underlying case dates back more than a decade. Shilo Sanders, 26, filed for bankruptcy in 2023 carrying over $11 million in debt, nearly all owed to John Darjean, a former security guard at his Dallas high school.

Darjean sued after a 2015 incident in which he says he sustained permanent injuries while attempting to confiscate Shilo’s phone at his father’s request, winning an $11.89 million default judgment in 2022 when Shilo didn’t appear.

The trial turns on a single legal question, whether the debt resulted from a willful and malicious injury, which would make it non-dischargeable. Shilo maintains he acted in self-defense.

Darjean’s attorney, Ori Raphael, has offered to work out a defined window for Sanders’ testimony, per the filing.