After Deion Sanders departed Jackson State for Colorado, the college football world has been abuzz. Deion has garnered a lot of attention for the career move he made and not all of it’s been positive.
Sanders‘ move to another school isn’t anything out of the ordinary in the sport. You can, of course, argue that a lot of the resentment stems from things Deion said at the time of his hiring at Jackson State. It’s certainly not the first time a coach has exaggerated, told a tall tale, or straight-up lied. That’s part of the package deal. Nevertheless, critics of Deion’s move have been loud and vocal.
Deion responded to the critics at the Cricket Wireless Celebration Bowl on Friday. The Colorado coach spoke at the podium about a variety of topics regarding his exit. Chris Clark, Sports Director of WNCN in Raleigh, North Carolina tweeted footage of the presser.
“Never once did I say they were gonna put a tombstone with my name on it at Jackson State, so I wasn’t gonna die here. Y’all know that,” Sanders bluntly said to start off.
Here at the @CelebrationBowl where @DeionSanders just set the record straight about his time at @JacksonStateU and a host of other things. No lies told. Take a listen. @WNCN pic.twitter.com/EDwKj9eXtw
— Chris Clark (@ChrisClark_) December 16, 2022
“But when I don’t fit into someone else’s plan and purpose, now there’s ridicule,” Sanders complained. “But you forgot about my plan and God’s purpose,” he continued.
Sanders said he felt tension from his own people because of how dominant Jackson State became. “So at what point do we keep dominating that you’re gonna get mad at us for dominating? Because there’s a level of dominance where you start to turn. And I felt that. You start to get tension from our own people because you’re dominant.”
Sanders said he has always considered himself a winner and then pled other goals like student safety and going to other professional levels. Deion said he can’t do all he wants to accomplish just as a football coach and spoke on other hypocrisies.
“And I reached the point where I had a real conversation with the Lord. And it’s funny how you believe the Lord when he said to come here, but you don’t believe me when I tell you the Lord may tell me to do otherwise. It’s like my God is talking to you about me, and I don’t think he works like that,” Sanders suggested.
Sanders then finished off his response as he asked everyone to be mindful of how change comes. The Colorado coach said, “I just pray to God that, in all that, get some understanding on change. And where change really starts. And it does not start in the football department.”
