The “civil papers” a Boulder County deputy tried to hand Deion Sanders at a Colorado practice on Aug. 11, 2026, are not a lawsuit against him. They’re a subpoena ordering him to testify as a witness in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy trial of his son, former Colorado defensive back Shilo Sanders, which is set to begin Aug. 31, 2026, in Denver. Deion Sanders is not a defendant and is not being sued in this matter.
Key facts
- Deion Sanders was subpoenaed as a witness, not sued and not a defendant, in son Shilo Sanders’ Chapter 7 bankruptcy trial.
- The trial opens Aug. 31, 2026, in Denver and is expected to run about five days, through roughly Sept. 4.
- The subpoena concerns a phone call Deion had with Shilo around a 2015 confrontation between Shilo and school security guard John Darjean.
- Darjean won a default judgment against Shilo in 2022 — reported at $11.89 million, though some coverage puts it around $11.3 million.
- A deputy failed to serve Deion Sanders on Aug. 11; his attorney, Harvey Steinberg, formally accepted the subpoena by email on Aug. 19.
- The trial overlaps Colorado’s season opener at Georgia Tech on Sept. 3.
Timeline
- 2015 — Confrontation between 15-year-old Shilo Sanders and school security guard John Darjean, the root of the debt at issue.
- 2022 — Darjean wins a default judgment against Shilo Sanders, reported at $11.89 million (other coverage: about $11.3 million).
- October 2023 — Shilo Sanders files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
- Aug. 11, 2026, ~10:22 a.m. — A Boulder County deputy fails to serve Deion Sanders with a subpoena at a Colorado practice.
- Aug. 19, 2026 — Attorney Harvey Steinberg formally accepts the subpoena by email in Denver.
- Aug. 31, 2026 — The bankruptcy trial opens in Denver.
- Sept. 3, 2026 — Colorado’s season opener at Georgia Tech.
- About Sept. 4, 2026 — The bankruptcy trial is expected to conclude.
What the subpoena is for
Shilo Sanders filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2023, trying to wipe out a debt tied to a default judgment won against him in 2022 by John Darjean, a former security guard at Shilo’s Dallas-area high school. The reported judgment is $11.89 million, though some coverage puts the debt lower, around $11.3 million — reporting hasn’t settled on one exact figure. It was a default judgment, meaning Shilo did not appear to defend himself at the original civil trial; no criminal charges have been reported against him in connection with the case.
The debt traces back to a 2015 confrontation, when Shilo was 15. Darjean, then working security at the school, tried to confiscate Shilo’s phone — Darjean says he was acting on a phone instruction from Deion Sanders — and says he was injured in the encounter that followed. Shilo’s legal team has argued he was defending himself, afraid of losing his phone, which was his connection to his mother during his parents’ divorce at the time. Judge Michael E. Romero, who is presiding over the bankruptcy trial, will decide whether that 2015 act counts as “willful and malicious” — which would leave the debt intact — or self-defense, which could allow it to be discharged.
Deion Sanders was subpoenaed over one specific piece of evidence: a phone call he had with Shilo around the time of the 2015 incident, which Judge Romero has indicated could bear directly on that question, since it was Deion’s instruction that set the encounter in motion. Beyond that, what Deion Sanders is actually expected to say about that call on the stand hasn’t been made public — coverage so far has focused on whether and how he’ll appear, not on the content of his testimony.
The failed attempt to serve him
On Aug. 11 at roughly 10:22 a.m., a Boulder County Sheriff’s Office deputy went to a Colorado Buffaloes open practice at Franklin Field — attended by media and roughly 300 fans — to serve Sanders with the subpoena, but he was unavailable to accept it at the time. A sheriff’s office spokeswoman, Carrie Haverfield, said the office worked with university staff to try to find another time. Sanders’ attorney, Harvey Steinberg, then indicated he could accept the papers on Sanders’ behalf. The accounts differ on what followed: one says the paperwork was transferred to Denver for service, while an Aug. 19 court filing says Steinberg accepted the subpoena on Sanders’ behalf by email. Nothing in the reporting reviewed confirms Sanders deliberately avoided the deputy — he was occupied at a scheduled public practice when the attempt was made.
Steinberg has said he wants Sanders to testify virtually rather than in person, if he testifies at all, and has raised that position with Darjean’s attorney. The reporting reviewed does not definitively establish that Deion Sanders was personally served with the subpoena. As of the most recent reporting, he had not filed a motion asking the court to cancel the subpoena outright. A legal expert cited in USA TODAY Sports-sourced wire coverage noted that a scheduling conflict alone isn’t normally grounds to block a subpoena, so it remains unresolved whether Sanders will have to appear in Denver in person.
A trial during Colorado’s season opener
The bankruptcy trial is expected to run roughly five days, through about Sept. 4. That overlaps with Colorado’s 2026 season opener at Georgia Tech on Thursday, Sept. 3 — the team was due to leave Sept. 1 for Atlanta. Judge Romero raised the conflict himself at a pretrial conference, telling attorneys, “I’m also concerned there’s a game — CU’s first game is that same week.”
Other lawsuits, not related to this case
Separately, Shilo Sanders — now a professional football player rather than a current Colorado college player — is being sued by law firm Barnes & Thornburg over roughly $164,000 in unpaid legal fees, and a fan has reportedly filed a $100 million lawsuit against the NFL over Shedeur Sanders’ draft slide; neither is part of this subpoena story.
The bankruptcy trial opens Aug. 31 in Denver. Steinberg has already told Darjean’s side he wants Sanders to testify by video rather than in person, but he hasn’t moved to block the subpoena outright — so the questions left hanging are whether Sanders will have to testify at all and, if so, whether he does it from the courtroom or from a screen.