The most uncomfortable part of Shilo Sanders’ bankruptcy fight may not be the $11.89 million judgment itself. It is the evidence that could have shown exactly what happened during the 2015 confrontation. John Darjean, the former Texas high school security guard who won that judgment, testified during the bankruptcy trial that surveillance footage of the incident existed.
His side says the footage was later given to Deion Sanders. Now, that video is missing. Interestingly, the presiding judge, Michael E. Romero, has already laid out the importance of the third video. It not only shows the alleged confrontation from a closer angle, but Romero is also considering it the “best” evidence for the trial, per Mike Florio of NBC Sports.
According to a September 10 piece by USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer, there are “breadcrumbs” that can lead to Coach Prime in the trial. Shilo’s father had already told the court, in an earlier deposition, about his ability to secure the CCTV footage of the incident before the current deposition.
“I have no idea, but whoever it was, they weren’t gonna give me the video,” Deion Sanders said, as per NBC Sports. The Buffs HC also said that he “forgot” that someone had “manipulated” and given him the video. The Judge then asked Sanders whether someone had given him the footage on “down low,” and he agreed. The footage has now become the missing piece of the puzzle.
The testimony does not prove Deion destroyed or hid the missing video.
But Darjean has argued that the footage disappeared after Deion obtained it. At the bankruptcy trial, Darjean described it as the video that was “stolen.” That’s why the third camera angle becomes so important.
It reportedly covered the few seconds between the two surviving clips. That is exactly where Darjean says Shilo hit him, and where Shilo says he was the one being attacked. The missing footage could have shown which version was closer to the truth.
One surviving clip comes from inside the school gym. It shows the beginning of the encounter between the then-15-year-old Shilo and Darjean. The other comes from a lobby camera and catches the end of the confrontation.
Darjean says Deion Sanders told him to take Shilo’s phone after an issue at the school. He says Shilo then attacked him. Shilo has maintained the opposite version, saying Darjean attacked and choked him first. There is no video now sitting in court that can settle that dispute. The trial has produced some awkward moments for both sides.
Witnesses at the bankruptcy trial testified that they saw the third angle. School administrator Lynn Gray said the footage gave her a broader view than the two remaining videos. Another witness, Dana Hamilton, had investigated the incident for the school and said she had also watched footage from the third camera angle.
Hamilton described a camera that looked deeper into the gym and toward the lobby and front door. She testified that the video showed a struggle between the two men and said Shilo’s elbow struck Darjean. Gray also recalled seeing Shilo strike Darjean. She was less certain about whether the contact came from a fist, forearm, or elbow.
A former school administrator, Ruda Nash James, testified that Darjean had choked Shilo. That supported Shilo’s account. But Darjean’s lawyer later brought up a recorded conversation from the day of the incident in which James gave a less certain answer about whether she actually saw Darjean’s hand around Shilo’s neck. She could not fully explain the difference.
Then Darjean himself collapsed in court. He had spent more than two hours testifying on September 3 before he fell in the courtroom. An ambulance took him to a hospital, where he was later released. He did not return to court that day.
Deion had been subpoenaed because of his connection to the events surrounding the confrontation. But Judge Romero released him from the subpoena on September 3 after deciding his testimony was no longer necessary.
Now, the judge must ultimately decide whether the $11.89 million debt arose from a willful and malicious injury, which would affect whether Shilo can discharge it in bankruptcy. For now, the most revealing piece of evidence remains the one sitting outside the courtroom.