Deion Sanders attorney seeks to quash subpoena to testify at son's trial in latest twist

The attorney for Colorado football coach Deion Sanders filed a document in court Aug. 20 that said Sanders would face an undue burden if he is required to testify at his son Shilo’s looming bankruptcy trial in Denver while Sanders’ team prepares for its season opener at Georgia Tech on Sept. 3.

Sanders’ attorney, Harvey Steinberg, also said he hasn’t accepted service of a subpoena for Sanders to testify, contrary to court documents filed Aug. 19 by the attorney for the plaintiff in the case, John Darjean.

In his motion to quash the subpoena filed Aug. 20, Steinberg appears to be going all out in his effort to prevent Deion Sanders from testifying in the trial as his son tries to discharge more than $11 million in debt. The trial is expected to last up to five days, conflicting with the travel schedule of Sanders’ team, which is leaving for Atlanta on Sept. 1.

“Mr. Sanders is the head coach for the University of Colorado football organization,” the motion to quash states. “The CU Buffaloes’ first game of the season is set to occur on September 3, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. Thus, Mr. Sanders’ job obligations require him to continue working with the University, staff, and players to both prepare the team for its September 3 game and to travel with the team to Georgia.

“Common sense dictates that Mr. Sanders’ absence from sitting outside the courtroom to await potential testimony will cause him significant and undue personal and professional burdens, and that such a requirement will also significantly impact the CU Buffaloes’ preparation for their season opener.”

Steinberg also seeks a protective order from the court prohibiting Darjean from serving a subpoena on Deion Sanders. If Sanders’ testimony should become relevant during the trial, Steinberg stated he also wants to be contacted so he can attempt to arrange limited testimony from Sanders “via remote means.”

It will be up to the judge, Michael E. Romero, if Deion Sanders testifies and under what conditions.

Shilo Sanders, 26, filed for bankruptcy in 2023 with more than $11 million in debt, almost all of it owed to Darjean, a former security guard at his school in Dallas. Darjean sued Shilo Sanders in 2016, alleging that Sanders caused him permanent injuries when he tried to confiscate his phone at school in 2015 at Deion Sanders’ request. Darjean then won a $11.89 million default judgment against Shilo Sanders after Sanders dumped his attorneys in 2020 and then didn’t show up for the trial in Dallas in 2022.

Shilo Sanders is now trying to get out of that debt in court, arguing he acted in self-defense. Darjean is opposing it, arguing that it stemmed from a willful and malicious injury.

Darjean’s attorney, Ori Raphael, filed a “proof of service” document with the court Aug. 19 that indicated Steinberg had accepted service of the subpoena for Deion Sanders on his behalf. But that is now in dispute by Steinberg, who wants the court to find that “no service has occurred.”

The dispute appears to rest on the terms of Sanders’ possible testimony. Raphael previously tried to serve the subpoena on Deion Sanders in Boulder on Aug. 11 through the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. It wasn’t successful, because the deputy said he couldn’t enter a secure area of the university to deliver the documents, according to records filed in the case.

The sheriff’s office then told USA TODAY Sports on Aug. 18 it was “contacted by Mr. Sanders’ legal counsel, who indicated they were able to accept the documents on his behalf.”

In a letter to Raphael dated Aug. 17, Steinberg writes, “As you are aware, I had agreed to accept service on Mr. Sanders’ behalf.”

In an email to Raphael Aug. 18, Steinberg then accused Raphael of reneging on the agreed conditions of Sanders’ testimony, which Raphael disputes.

“We agreed I would accommodate Mr. Sanders’ schedule and my email does exactly that: remote video appearance on 24 hours’ notice, no preconditions, or no appearance at all under the stipulation,” Raphael responded to Steinberg on Aug. 18. “That’s more accommodation than we discussed, not less. We never agreed the subpoena was moot or that the Court ruled his testimony irrelevant.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deion Sanders attorney seeks to quash subpoena to testify at son’s trial in latest twist