Deion Sanders is a former professional football player and current NFL Network analyst for the Baltimore Ravens. On Monday, he tweeted that his agent sent him on an interview with the team as a favor before allegedly texting to say they wouldn’t be signing him.
The situation has led to Deion being blackballed from coaching in America’s most popular sport. It also highlighted how difficult it can be for players who excel at one point of their career only to fall out of the limelight later down the line when other factors come into play like age or performance dips. Experts are divided about whether this was necessarily fair given how much time had passed since his playing days ended but there’s no denying that this story illustrates just how pervasive racism still exists in sports culture despite its diminishing influence over recent decades
Deion Sanders is one of the most popular sports figures in America. He is a former NFL player and also an actor, who has been outspoken about his love for Baltimore Ravens football team. However, he recently lost his cool after they failed to show up at their pro day.
Rob Carr/Getty Images NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders looks on from the set before the start of the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens game at M&T Bank Stadium on November 24, 2011.
On Monday, March 21, Jackson State University had its Pro Day, and head coach Deion Sanders, 54, was overjoyed that representatives from over twenty NFL organizations attended to observe his draft-eligible athletes. However, he was disappointed when 10 of the league’s teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, did not attend the ceremony.
So on Tuesday, he resorted to social media to publicly embarrass the Ravens and other relevant organizations for failing to attend a joint Pro Day at Jackson State, which featured athletes from neighboring HBCUs Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State. Sanders went on a two-minute outburst in a tweet tweeted by sports writer Jeff Lightsty Jr., in which he initially expressed his gratitude for those who came. He then went out on those who didn’t.
“Where Have You Been?” says Deion Sanders.
“… The Dolphins, Broncos, Texans, Bills, Buccaneers, Ravens, Panthers, Browns, Vikings, and Eagles are among the 32 clubs represented in this Crayola box… Where have you gone? You could have sent someone, you could have showed here for a few minutes, but I promise you’re going to Mississippi State and Ole Miss,” he continued, alluding to the two SEC schools’ Pro Days, the first of which was conducted on March 22 and the second of which is slated for March 23.
“I promise you’re going to show up there,” the former NFL star stated. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, You believe they have greater ability. I see your point. What’s more, guess what? We’re on our way. We’re on our way. We’re on our way. And you had best be here when we come. You’d best show up. Because our children are deserving of it. That’s all I’m saying. You should have sent a scout, you could have sent someone. We will never forget….
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Sanders expects at least seven HBCU players to get drafted this year.
Of course, Sanders is fully aware that Jackson State, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), currently lacks NFL potential, albeit linebacker James Houston, who moved from Florida to JSU in 2021, was present. Houston, who led Jackson State with 16.5 sacks last season, was not invited to the NFL Combine, but he is likely to be picked.
Sanders believes the situation will improve in the coming years. In fact, he got the nation’s top recruit in cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter in December 2021.
In the end, he expects Jackson State’s and other HBCUs’ greater recruiting prowess to translate into more success in the NFL draft.
“My goal this year is to pick 7-10 guys,” he told NFL Network. “After that, we’ll aim to double that and double that, and then the sky’s the limit.”
Since September 2020, Deion Sanders has been the head coach at JSU.
Sanders was named head coach at Jackson State in September 2020. Last season, the Tigers were 11-2 overall and 8-0 in SWAC play. His season, however, was hampered by health concerns.
Sanders underwent foot surgery on September 22, 2021, to fix a “old deformity” from a football injury, and before the anesthetic set in, he made a motivating message to the physicians and nurses in the operating room. According to NFL.com, he had two toes on his left foot amputated as a result of complications following the operation, and he was hospitalized for a month in the midst of the season.
Sanders spent 14 seasons in the NFL after being taken No. 5 overall in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He spent one year with the 49ers after five years with the Falcons, then five seasons with the Cowboys and one season with Washington before retiring. He returned to the Ravens in 2004 for two more seasons and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
Sanders was selected to the Pro Bowl eight times and first-team All-Pro six times throughout his career. According to Pro Football Reference, he has 53 interceptions and nine touchdowns on kick returns.
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