You are what you tweet.
Scroll Deion Sanders’ timeline and it provides messages that are uplifting, encouraging and confusing. Sanders dispenses advice on pursuing dreams, believing, staying positive and remaining disciplined.
Intertwined in those messages, Sanders makes and takes things personally. As one of the greatest defenders ever to play football, it is natural for him to defend himself. But when it comes to taking a shot at a college player, as he did Wednesday morning, Coach Prime needs to be above this. For his sake. And for CU’s.
For context, The Athletic ran a piece this week revisiting the 53 transfers who left CU’s program last spring, including notable ones who helped change the NCAA’s waiver process like quarterback Maddox Kopp. As part of the article, multiple former players were interviewed. Cornerback Xavier Smith, who transferred to Austin Peay and followed his new coach to UTEP, was upset with the way his departure was handled, saying, “(Coach Prime) was destroying guys’ confidence and belief in themselves. The way he did it, it could have been done with more compassion.”
CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders responded to Smith’s criticism through a quote tweet, saying “Ion even remember him tbh. Bro had to be very mid at best.”
The number of kids who have exited the CU program over the past two springs is not normal. But there is no normal in college football anymore with free agency. For kids not to see college football as a business now is naive, if not delusional. So, if the team’s star wants to defend the coach who also happens to be his father, it is his prerogative.
Where it became uncomfortable Wednesday is when Coach Prime followed suit. He responded, “Lawd Jesus” to a picture of Austin Peay defensive back Jaheim Ward’s statistics last season. It was part of an exchange where Ward tweeted at CU receiver Kaleb Mathis, which drew the attention of Dalvin Truth, who delivers CU content at The Undisputed Buffs. Truth tweeted at Ward, “Man go take a seat.” Which elicited Coach’s Prime’s “Lawd Jesus” response.
The previous paragraph makes my point. It reads like a soap opera script. Coach Prime should be better than this. He is the leader of men, a person who preaches old school values to his players about how they dress, act and represent themselves.
He is also the highest-paid state employee. Regardless of the millions of eyeballs Coach Prime has brought to the program, to say nothing of millions of dollars to the Boulder community, he has a responsibility to be the adult in these situations.
Twitter jabs at a college player are unnecessary. If he was still Deion Sanders the player, sure. Have at it. But he’s Coach Prime, not PrimeTime. The difference seems subtle, but it is all in the job title.
Sanders has shown character in how he dealt with Travis Hunter’s injury vs. Colorado State when he called Henry Blackburn a “good player,” and condemned the death threats Blackburn received. He took the high road recently, responding to a tweet of praise from five-star cornerback Cormani McClain’s mom, saying “Much Love Mama and I pray that all things work together for the good.”
Coach Prime is a magnet for attention. And for criticism. I am sure he wants to trash talk keyboard warriors. The vitriol must be exhausting. It’s not worth it. I would point him to his own tweet last week when he wrote, “Let’s Go baby! Stay positive and operate out of Love. It’s enough Hate out there that don’t need your emotions or sensitivity. God bless u.”
His son Deion Sanders Jr. explained in a tweet about The Athletic article, “that’s why we run our own media and control our own narrative.”
Let that be your voice. Your clapback.
This isn’t to suggest that Coach Prime leave social media. I humbly suggest he exercise restraint befitting his position. As this Twitter drama unfolded, Coach Prime reposted the following:
“Folks don’t hate u because they really don’t know u. They admire u in a Negative way. They realize they can’t be u, think like u, talk like u or walk in your shoes. That Bothers them. Always smile when u see them because that makes them admire u so much more in that negative way.”
Or simply follow the words of John Wooden, who said, “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
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