BONUS Fryday: The Shedeur Sanders Incident: Unmasking Viral Humiliation Disguised as Humor

The so-called “prank” on Shedeur Sanders during the NFL Draft wasn’t funny. It was calculated cruelty disguised as humor. In this Bonus Fryday episode, I unpack what really happened when a 21-year-old adult used stolen confidential information to humiliate someone for views, clout, and laughs. This wasn’t some harmless joke. It was a public act of disrespect, with real consequences for dignity, trust, and professional ethics.

We’re in a moment where humiliation is increasingly packaged as entertainment. But if your goal is to make someone feel small while others watch and laugh, that’s not a prank—it’s abuse. And the fact that this was filmed while friends giggled? That tells us everything about how far we’ve slid into normalizing cruelty.

What would happen if this occurred in any other profession? Likely termination. So why do we accept less from people tied to sports or fame? In this episode, I break down:

• Why the Shedeur Sanders moment matters
• What accountability should actually look like
• Why “just a joke” doesn’t cut it anymore

Let’s stop sidestepping the truth and start calling things what they are. If we want to change the culture, we have to get uncomfortable first.

Join me in this conversation. Follow me @JenFryTalks on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, or connect on LinkedIn. And don’t forget to subscribe to Five with Fry.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Five with Fry

Transcript

Dr. Jen Fry: 0:00

Friends, welcome to Five with Fry, where five is the magic number, whether it's five minutes, five questions or anything that fits in five. I dive into the big topics that matter, sometimes alone and other times with a friend. From navigating sports conflict to family dynamics, travel, tech, hard-hitting issues and even politics Nothing and I mean nothing's off the table. This is where curiosity meets conversation, and we always sit at an intersection. I'm your host, dr Jen Fry of Jen Fry Talks. Let's get into it. Hey friends, welcome to the newest episode of Five with Fry.

Dr. Jen Fry: 0:38

Today we're going to talk about the Shador Sanders prank, and the reason why I want to talk about it is because we are seeing kind of this idea of pranks just being jokes. And the problem is with the Shador Sanders prank is that it was not meant to be a joke. It was not something that people would laugh at. It was meant to be pure humiliation, and I'm not going to call the guy who did it a kid, even though he's in high school or in college. He's a grown man, he's 21. And he knew what he was doing. But for him, the idea of not only humiliating Sanders but getting it on video and audio was worth more than the potential losses that he was going to accrue from it, the potential losses his dad might get, the potential losses from anyone else did not matter, because the joy of humiliating Sanders to him was worth more than any of that. And he could go on and say you know, he said in the apology that I made a terrible, inexcusable mistake and I'm just so sorry, son, you knew what you were doing. You knew what you were doing. You knew that having this prank during the draft and coming from the GM of the Saints could be bad. He knew that. He is a grown-up, he's over 21. But for him, the idea to humiliate Sanders man, to him that was worth more. That was worth everything, even his dad's potential job. Because, let's be honest, if this was any other profession, if somebody's son stole important confidential information, use that to prank someone, they would probably be fired. Just think of it in a normal business setting, any other business. If that employee's son stole confidential information and used it to call and prank someone, they would have been fired, which to me the punishment should be that homeboy is banned from Saints and Falcons games, at least for this year, if not longer, because we're talking about doing this during the draft and to have it even worse be filmed like you're filming yourself doing this to Sanders.

Dr. Jen Fry: 3:27

You have people who you call as friends around you watching and giggling and gasping. That shit is wild, because I will tell you, those people can't be your friends If they let you do that. They can't be your friends Because what we tend to see is this idea of what was I going to say? He's a grown up. You would have said, friend to friend, don't do this dumb thing because of the repercussions. Instead, you watched, you giggled, you laughed, you gasped and we're okay with humiliation, and I think that's kind of something that we really need to parse out more of this idea that we tend to see that humiliation is okay if it's for a joke. Well, it's only a joke. What does it matter? It matters a lot that both people aren't laughing. The thing that you did isn't something that people would actually laugh at, and that's what we have to think about more.

Dr. Jen Fry: 4:24

And if we see people saying that things are jokes, when they're really humiliation tactics, we need to call it out for what it is is. You're not joking with that person. You're trying to humiliate them. Humiliate them for fun, for laughs, for giggles, for likes, for views. That's what you're trying to do and name a spade a spade, because I'm going to tell you this if we start calling it what it is, people are going to be really uncomfortable, and that's what we want. Is people uncomfortable with doing this thing for fun and giggles? So many people are like why? I just want to be polite. I don't want to call this out. What if the person gets mad? What if? What if? What if? Maybe? That's not your problem. The problem that we need to talk about is the humiliation that people are trying to call a joke or a prank. No, it's not. It's humiliation. That's what your whole goal is is to humiliate someone so that you can go viral. So call a spade a spade and quit accepting people doing humiliating things just as jokes, to make it seem like it's okay, because it's not not at all.

Dr. Jen Fry: 5:27

Well, friends, that's it for this episode of five with fry your dose of five insights, ideas and inspiration. If you love what you heard, don't forget to head over to where podcasts are played, to subscribe, share and leave a review. Got a topic you want us to tackle? Drop us a message. We love to hear from you. You can come, follow me on IG, twitter, the TikTok at Jen Fry Talks, or join me on LinkedIn. Look for me at Dr Jen Fry. Until next time, stay curious, stay bold and keep the conversation going. See you on the next Five with Fry.