*Deion Sanders prides himself on having a football team whose members excel on and off the field. But the former NFL star found himself taking his roster to task after discovering disrespect exhibited by University of Colorado Buffaloes team members towards one of the school’s professors.
Needless to say, Sanders was not in a good mood when putting his foot down over the situation. The scolding, captured on video and shared on YouTube by Deion Sanders Jr., marked a certified low point for the Buffaloes.
“We gotta emphasize education,” Sanders told his coaches.
Sanders’ reaction came after the professor brought the players’ inattentiveness in the classroom to light via a letter he wrote that Sanders read aloud to the team, People reports. Commenting on his treatment by the players, the professor, stated, “I have never felt so disrespected in my 10 years teaching.”
“Student[s] do not follow even minimally, and it slows down my class so much. They make it clear they do not want to be there,” the professor wrote. “I often have to repeat the same [thing] three and four times because student athletes are present but not really in class.”
Addressing his team, Sanders’ disappointment was clear.
“You present, but you ain’t really there,” the football legend said. “You on the field, but you ain’t really doing nothing. You in a relationship, but you ain’t got no love. You at the mall, but you ain’t got no money. Got a lot of ability, but no darn talent … because you don’t think, that’s from a teacher.”
The Buffaloes’ 4-8 record for the season, coupled with the professor’s comments, serve as evidence of work that still needs to be done to improve the team all around. And Sanders knows it.
“Ninety percent or 95 percent of your roster ain’t going pro,” he mentioned in the video while guiding his coaching staff. “So coaches, we gotta emphasize education, we gotta emphasize life, we gotta emphasize the next step, the next elevation if it don’t work in the game.”
Buffaloes fans who regularly check in to the team’s YouTube channel know the outlet is known for highlighting behind-the-scenes drama.
As such, People noted how important it was for Sanders to voice his dissatisfaction as it comes amid an ever-present “NIL state of mind.” For Coach Prime, the terms represent a distracting reward system.
“Today was not wonderful, but I’ll be darned if I allow these kids to get out of here without something,” said the 56-year-old former Dallas Cowboy who touted using a different strategy to achieve victory. “Because this life that they’re getting ready to live, you gotta win with your mind, not your athleticism.”
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