*Deion Sanders is tightening discipline at Colorado after the Buffaloes’ 41-7 road loss to Northwestern. The coach revealed Tuesday that several players had left the program following repeated conduct issues.
“It’s a few guys that are not on the team anymore,” Sanders said, according to USA Today. “Just so you know.” He did not name the players or specify how many had departed.
Sanders described the underlying issue as “conduct detrimental to the team.” He made clear that his decision reflected more than anything that happened during or immediately after Saturday’s game.
“It’s never one [thing],” he said, per CBS. “But when you start being conduct detrimental to the team, that will set us back in things that you’re doing that you don’t care about the team — you care about you. I have a problem with that…”
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Saturday’s loss had already raised concerns for Sanders about his players’ response to defeat. He criticized some Buffaloes for laughing as they left the field following the 34-point loss. Sanders did not say those players were among those removed from the program. Instead, he pointed to recurring behavior that he no longer wants to tolerate.
The coach also acknowledged that last season influenced his approach. Colorado finished 3-9 after problems Sanders now believes he should have confronted sooner.
“A year ago, I didn’t put my foot down in it enough,” Sanders said .”It lingered a little bit. Then it imploded. I’m not doing that. I’m not doing that anymore.”
Accountability also surfaced Tuesday when safety Ben Finneseth addressed disparaging comments he made about Northwestern’s temporary stadium before the game. Finneseth publicly apologized for his behavior.
“It was childish. It was a stupid thing that I said. It won’t happen again,” Finneseth said.
He continued: “The way I handled it was horrible. I promise you guys it will not happen again and it’ll be much more mature moving forward.”
Sanders did not identify Finneseth as one of the players involved in the roster changes. Check out his remarks in the clip below.
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