The attorney representing Colorado coach Deion Sanders filed a motion to quash a subpoena served on Sanders, which would require him to testify at the upcoming bankruptcy trial for his son, former Colorado safety Shilo Sanders.In a court filing Thursday, attorney Harvey Steinberg not only moved to dismiss the subpoena, but also requested a protective order on behalf of Sanders to prevent future subpoena attempts by the plaintiff in the case against Shilo Sanders, who owes John Darjean, a former high school security guard, more than $11 million in damages. Darjean filed a lawsuit in 2016 stemming from a 2015 incident at a school in Dallas where Shilo was a student.In 2023, Shilo Sanders filed for bankruptcy with $11.89 million in debt. Darjean and his lawyers claimed in court documents that Shilo Sanders didn’t properly disclose his assets when he filed. His trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 31 in Denver, Colo., three days before Colorado’s season opener at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. In 2022, Darjean, who contended the altercation caused lifelong debilitating physical issues, won the nearly $12 million default judgment in Texas after Shilo Sanders failed to appear at the trial.
Steinberg also claimed in Thursday’s filing that neither he nor Sanders have officially been served the subpoena for the upcoming trial. That contradicts a previous filing from Wednesday that stated that Steinberg accepted the subpoena on behalf of Sanders.In a response to the subpoena filing on Aug. 19, Steinberg wrote that if presiding Judge Michael E. Romero determines that Sanders’ testimony is relevant, they would try to make Sanders available to “appear virtually for any testimony.”The subpoena, however, “commands attendance within 100 miles” of where Sanders lives and is employed.Romero will determine whether the looming debt is a result of what Romero described in a court filing last week as “a willful and malicious injury.” Shilo Sanders, who was 15 at the time, has claimed he acted in self-defense.In Thursday’s filing, Steinberg accused Raphael of trying to pressure Shilo Sanders into allowing potentially inadmissible evidence, in part to reduce the burden on his father. Steinberg also accused Raphael of misrepresenting to the court that Sanders had been served with a trial subpoena.Steinberg added, “the fact is that Mr. Sanders does not possess any information that is relevant or admissible to the narrow issue before this Court.”The Boulder County Sheriff’s Department told The Athletic earlier this week that a deputy attempted to serve Sanders papers on the morning of Aug. 11, when the Buffaloes had an open fall practice at Franklin Field.Aug 21, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
