Apologies and begging for forgiveness may not be enough penitence to pay for the culprits linked to the prank draft day call to former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

Jax Ulbrich, who is the son of Atlanta Falcons Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, has admitted to obtaining Mr. Sanders’ private number from his father’s iPad and calling Mr. Sanders on the second night of the draft, pretending to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.

A video posted on social media shows Mr. Sanders holding a cell phone and a voice from the speaker saying, “It’s been a long wait, man. We’re going to take you with our next pick right here, man, but you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer, man. Sorry about that.”

“What does that mean?” Mr. Sanders responded before sensing something was off and hanging up.

The NFL announced it is investigating the matter, creating the possibility that the elder Mr. Ulbrich might receive some type of punishment for allowing access to private information. The Atlanta Falcons called the incident “a data exposure” and vowed to cooperate with the league’s investigation. “The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send our sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family.”

Mr. Sanders, a projected first-round pick in last weekend’s draft, endured a historic draft slide, waiting until the 144th choice in the fifth round before the Cleveland Browns selected him. He initially shrugged off the prank call before the culprits were known, calling it “a childish act, but everybody does childish things here and there.”

The league might not be as forgiving. This type of “childish act” strikes at the credibility of the shield. It creates a broader question connected to the growth of sports gambling. How many sons of coaches are secretly gaining access to playbooks and personnel information and relaying that information to who knows who?

Jax Ulbrich, 21, apparently called Mr. Sanders to apologize and used social media to publicly admit he was behind the prank phone call. Mr. Ulbrich called it “a tremendous mistake,” and admitted, “Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful.”

A former captain of the Chatham High School football team in New Jersey, the young Mr. Ulbrich closed by saying, “Thank you for accepting my call earlier today, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

In addition to apologizing to the Sanders family, the Falcons’ statement detailed how the younger Mr. Ulbrich came into possession of a private number Mr. Sanders created just for NFL personnel to contact him. Jax Ulbrich copied Mr. Sanders’ number from an iPad while visiting his parents’ home. The Falcons’ statement said Jax Ulbrich “unintentionally” came across the number and “wrote it down to later conduct a prank call.”

The Falcons said, “Jeff Ulbrich was unaware of the data exposure or any facets of the prank and was made aware of the above only after the fact.”

The Falcons hired Jeff Ulbrich after he ended a disappointing season as the Jets’ interim head coach in 2024.  Mr. Ulbrich took over the Jets when Robert Saleh was fired following a 2-3 start. The Jets finished 5-12.

Why a defensive coordinator needs to have Mr. Sanders’ cell number on draft day is also a head scratcher, considering he’s not making draft day decisions on offense or calling draft picks.

The Falcons said they have been contacted by the NFL and “will continue to cooperate fully with any inquiries we may receive from the league office. We are thoroughly reviewing all protocols and updating if necessary, to help prevent an incident like this from happening again.”

Somehow, simple apologies fall short. To spoil someone’s Draft Day, a special moment in these athletes’ and their families’ lives, is reprehensible, especially for the son of a football coach who makes his living off those players who are drafted. The credibility of the league is also at stake due to a data breach that deserves more punishment than saying, “We’re sorry.”