Colorado coach Deion Sanders is under subpoena to testify at Shilo’s upcoming bankruptcy trial. Unless he isn’t.
Via Christopher Kamrani of The Athletic, a sheriff’s deputy showed up during last week’s open practice with court papers to be served on Sanders.
Boulder County sheriff’s department spokesperson Carrie Haverfield said, per Kamrani, that the deputy was “unavailable at the time to receive receipt of the papers.”
It’s unclear whether the deputy was attempting to serve the subpoena for Shilo’s trial, which begins on August 31. The following Saturday, Colorado opens its 2026 season at Georgia Tech.
Still, it appears that the paperwork eventually was accepted by Sanders’s lawyer.
“While working with university staff to find a better time to complete the process, we heard from Mr. Sanders’ legal counsel who indicated that they were able to take receipt of the papers on behalf of Mr. Sanders, however, they were not located in Boulder County, so we transferred the paperwork to Denver to be served,” Haverfield told Kamrani. “We did not find any university staff to be attempting to block the civil service, on the contrary, they were attempting to help our deputy find a better time to do so.”
It shouldn’t have been impossible to serve Sanders. Unless Sanders was living at the facility, the deputy could have served Sanders when he was arriving for work or going home. Of course Sanders wasn’t available during football practice; he was running football practice.
The bigger question is whether Sanders will show up to testify during Shilo’s trial, or whether arrangements will be made to question him separately. That’s not uncommon; the testimony could be recorded at Sanders’s convenience and played in court.
Shilo’s upcoming trial focuses on whether an $11.89 million default judgment arising from an alleged assault will be discharged through bankruptcy. The question is whether the debt arises from “willful and malicious injury.”
Regardless, testimony from Deion would be potentially entertaining. Strong personalities aren’t inclined to submit to the authority of others. And the effort to extract evidence from a witness who is used to controlling the room could lead to a moment or two during which the witness is reminded that, in this situation, he does not.
