When Deion Sanders joined the Colorado Buffs after a successful three-year stint at Jackson State University, many expected him to change the landscape of CU. However, not many saw Coach Sanders letting go of over 20 players in a single day.
Advertisement
An axing like this didn’t go down well with players, especially Xavier Smith who accused Coach Prime of not even making the effort to know him before pushing him out. Sanders’ stringent actions on top of Smith’s revelations got him a lot of social media slander.
Hence, his son Shedeur Sanders came to his rescue. The Buffs QB tweeted that he doesn’t remember who Smith is, implying that he was “mid at best”. This further fuelled the fire leading to lot of criticism of the Sanders family. The issue has now got mainstream attention with popular sports analyst Stephen A. Smith also joining the discussion.
In his latest video, Smith went off on Shedeur, saying the kind of notoriety Deion Sanders has, players on his team, even his children don’t. And thus, coming to the rescue of his father/coach, even though admirable, might not be the best course of action for a future top NFL prospect.
The analyst reminded the young QB that even though he has a Rolex and garners wins in his field of sports debating, he doesn’t go into people’s faces and flex it – a dig on Shedeur’s celebration. He called the QB a ‘miniature’ in today’s time based on his standing in the sporting landscape – a metaphor asking Shedeur to imbibe humility.
“If you see this watch right here, this little Rolex I got on, see that you know one of the things that I never do with my watch; I never did that [Shedeur’s celebration] and in my profession quite frankly, I win a lot. Shedeur Sanders did that each time they won a game – when they were three and 0, he did it when they beat Colorado State and that coach was trying to talk smack at Deion in the program, Shedeur Sanders met him at Midfield [but] Shedeur Sanders is miniature in my estimation.”
Smith opined that Coach Prime can say whatever he wants to whoever, thanks to his two Super Bowls and for being the greatest NFL cornerback. Since Shedeur has barely achieved anything, Smith thus requested the QB to deal with such trolls in humility and good intent. Being brave and disrespectful puts the light on him than protecting his father, thus defeating the purpose, Smith implied.
“When you do it with bravado and disrespect as opposed to humility and protection of your father, you force people to look at you as opposed to looking at you protecting your father. Your father is Prime Time, he doesn’t need you to do that. He can handle it. Focus on being the best you can be so you can back up all of this with victories instead of just celebrations.”
Not many will disagree with Stephen A’s stance. Shedeur needs to be mature enough to understand that the players who entered the portal are coming from a place of hurt. Thus, a hint of humility and empathy would have gone a long way. After all, these players were his former teammates.
Deion Sanders Has Overseen One Of The Biggest Roster Turnovers In Recent College History
Ever since Coach Prime joined the CU, a total of 53 scholarship players have been transferred out. Notably, an unprecedented 20 players were removed in a single day. An excellent metaphor to describe this situation is likening Coach Sanders’ management style to corporate culture. Apart from the layoffs that mirror the harsh corporate reality, the Colorado football program was a stressful, high-pressure environment.
While there was the pressure of being cut off, being constantly recorded by two cameras [Amazon Docuseries & His Son’s YouTube Channel] could not have eased the pressure. Ex-CU WR Chase Sowell described the environment as “a reality TV Show”. The mass layoff also created a toxic atmosphere in the camp as players were pitted against each other to secure their spots. “We felt like it was us vs. them instead of all of us together,” Sowell said, per Bleacher Report. “That’s the best way I can put it. The new guys were going against the players that had already been there. It wasn’t a good environment to be in. It wasn’t a team environment,” claimed the WR.
Sowell’s claims seem to have credibility thanks to Xavier Smith’s statements that opened the Pandora box. Some suggest Deion Sanders and his team should have dealt with the matter better. Being followed constantly by cameras would have only added to the anxiety and it’s a very valid point. Considering their plight, Shedeur’s statement then, could’ve really hurt them while they were already down.
