Colorado State football head coach Deion Sanders responded to controversial comments he made on social media last week, saying he needs to do better but is bored and meant no harm, saying he was misunderstood in one case. He explained his statement.
Sanders made two statements on social media last week that received more than 37 million combined views on X (formerly Twitter), while others appeared on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and FOX Sports’ “Undisputed.” But it prompted commentary on whether his actions were appropriate.
“I’ve got to get on top of it and do better, but I was bored,” Sanders said in an interview published over the weekend on Thee Pregame Show, one of Sanders’ favorite YouTube channels. “I didn’t say anything hurtful because I was bored. I don’t attack people.”
What was Deion Sanders’ explanation?
In one case, Sanders said he came to protect the quarterback’s son, Shedur. Person X, who has fewer than 300 followers, told Deion Sanders, “Son, tell him to stop acting like the most heartless person out here and then go on to have a 4-8 season.” ” he instructed.
sanders I replied that Wednesday In front of 1.8 million followers.
“He will be a top-five pick,” Sanders wrote. Sanders led the team to a 4-8 record last year, his first year on the job. “Son, where are you going? (lol) I have time today. Lololol.”
Deion Sanders did not apologize for the comment, saying in an interview published over the weekend, “It was true.” Shedule Sanders is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
What did he say he misunderstood?
In another case, Sanders appeared to be amused by someone else (not Deion Sanders) making a derogatory comment about a player named Jaheim Ward from Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. was.
“Law Jesus” Sanders I wrote a reply on Wednesday..
Sanders said he did not intend to mock Ward, but was following a verbal exchange on social media after Ward mocked the statistical results of Colorado walk-on receiver Caleb Mathis. .
“Well, last year it was 38 yards, but stop trying to play someone down,” Ward wrote to Mathis on the X.
Another party then stepped in to defend Mattis, posting Ward’s own stats from 2023, which included just eight solo tackles.
“Come on, take a seat,” the Colorado supporter wrote while posting Ward’s stats.
That’s when Mr. Sanders interjected, responding to the latter’s remark with “The Law Jesus.”
He explained this in a recent interview.
“I’m trying to be as restrained as possible, but like when you posted something like a statistic, I said, ‘Outlaw Jesus.’ Like if I really shot him, he really shot him.” I was on my way,” Deion Sanders said in an interview. I think what I meant was wrong. I think it was taken sideways or something. ”
What started all this?
Last week’s article in The Athletic revisited how Sanders overhauled the roster last year after taking over a 1-11 team in 2022. One of the many Colorado players Sanders effectively ran away from was Xavier Smith, who went to Austin Peay, and the article was quoted. An article criticizing how Sanders handled the situation. He said Sanders was “destroying people’s confidence and belief in themselves.”
Shedur Saunders defended his father regarding X, saying he didn’t remember Smith and saying, “My brother must have been average at best.”
Mathis also jabbed Smith with the X, leading Ward of Austin Peay to defend his teammate.
Deion Sanders said he doesn’t remember much about Smith, but doesn’t understand why Smith would be mentioned again in this article a year later.
“You go find people who are not with us and say bad things about us. Why don’t you talk about the team you’re with and what you’re getting ready to do?” ” asked Deion Sanders on interfview. “Why us?”
Sanders said he never used abusive language on the field as a player. “But sometimes I want to play, but sometimes I think about the boring stuff,” Deion Sanders said.
He said he was used to the noise outside.
“I don’t lose sleep over it,” he said in an interview. “It may be an eventful day in someone else’s eyes, but it was a good day for me. Because you know why? They’re talking. They’re talking. They’re talking. ”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenbohr. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
