Deion Sanders may have two very different arenas demanding his attention in early September: the sideline in Atlanta and a courtroom in Denver.
A bankruptcy trial involving his son, Shilo Sanders, is set for the same week Colorado opens its 2026 football season, and at an August 14 pretrial conference Bankruptcy Judge Michael E. Romero noted that Deion Sanders had been subpoenaed to testify as a witness. The overlap lands right on top of Colorado’s trip to Georgia Tech on September 3.
The legal fight traces back to 2015, when Shilo Sanders was 15 and a confrontation at his Dallas-area school involved security guard John Darjean. Darjean said he was trying to take Shilo’s phone at Deion Sanders’ direction during a bitter family dispute involving Shilo’s mother, Pilar. Darjean also claimed Shilo punched him and hit him with a roundhouse elbow to the neck area, worsening a spinal injury he already had and leaving him with lasting damage that included incontinence.
Darjean filed suit against Shilo and his parents in 2016. The parents were later removed from the case, leaving Shilo as the only defendant.
Shilo dismissed his lawyers in 2020, and when the case reached trial in Texas in 2022, he did not show up. The judge then entered a default judgment against him for $11.89 million.
Deion Sanders was not present for the altercation, but Darjean has said the two spoke by phone before it happened and that Deion directed the phone confiscation. Romero said that conversation “may be relevant.” Darjean’s attorney has said Deion’s testimony could help establish the family dynamics, prior incidents, and Shilo’s state of mind that day, including alleged restrictions on contact with his mother.
Romero also acknowledged the scheduling problem tied to football. He said he would not be surprised if Deion tried to fight the subpoena, and added that he has no ties to the University of Colorado and does not care about the schedule, while recognizing that it could still become an issue. For now, it remains unclear from the public record whether Deion has been formally served or whether he will move to quash the subpoena.
Colorado’s opener at Georgia Tech is set for Thursday, September 3, in Atlanta, with an evening kickoff at Bobby Dodd Stadium and national coverage on ESPN. The game was moved up from Saturday, September 5, and it will be the Buffs’ first under Deion Sanders in 2026 before they return home to face Weber State the following week.
There’s also a football angle beyond the legal wrinkle. Georgia Tech beat Colorado 27-20 in Boulder last August, giving the Buffs a fresh reason to be locked in when they head to Atlanta. But this year’s opener now comes with an extra layer: a family legal matter that could pull Deion Sanders into court during the same week he’s supposed to lead his team onto the field.
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