A Georgia man who is suing the National Football League after Shedeur Sanders’ drop in the NFL Draft filed an emergency motion this week.
“John Doe” first filed the federal lawsuit on May 1.
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He claimed that the NFL and its teams had a “coordinated and racially motivated smear campaign“ against Sanders before the Cleveland Browns drafted the quarterback in the fifth round.
On Monday, the fan and his attorney filed an emergency motion for “early and targeted discovery” request.
The motion specifically asked for the NFL to produce the following:
- All internal communications, including emails, text messages, and memos between NFL executives, league officials, and team general managers, representatives, scouts and owners, relating to Shedeur Sanders from January 1, 2024, to May 1, 2025.
- All scouting reports, internal assessments, draft boards, and interview notes used by NFL teams when evaluating quarterbacks in the 2025 Draft.
- Any audio or video recordings of team meetings, draft room communications, or NFL Combine sessions involving Sanders
- Communications with third-party media outlets regarding the narrative and public portrayal of Sanders before the draft.
- All documents related to the NFL investigation into the prank call placed to Shedeur Sanders, which resulted in fines for an assistant and the Atlanta Falcons
- The results or report of the inquiry into why the personal phone number of Shedeur Sanders provided to the NFL was released to waiver wires
- The 61-page arbitration report that found evidence of collusion against Black quarterbacks, affirming that systemic biases have influenced player evaluation
John Doe and his attorneys argue these documents are needed for “uncovering the truth."
As of Tuesday, there are no upcoming court hearings regarding the motion or lawsuit. The NFL has not released any statements.
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