Being a controversial figure that makes you feel good on both sides of the coin is what Deion Sanders has always been the best at. From his playing days to his current job as a coach/leader of young athletes, his resume shows a history of inspiring victories and epic failures.
The perfect example was last week.
On National Signing Day, the world was shocked when he flipped the No. 1 overall recruit from Florida State to Jackson State. It was one of those moments that shook the sports world to its core, as people couldn't understand how a kid who is destined to be a top NFL draft pick in a few years would turn down a program like FSU to go play at a Black college.
The fear of what will happen if all the Black players start going to Black schools started to affect the racists and progressives as they were unable to hide their prejudice.
I was surprised that FSU was able to recruit someone of Hunter's talent, given their current circumstances and lack of success over the last few seasons. That is a story for another day.
It was just another example of the attention that is being given to HBCUs. JSU and South Carolina State University played in the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and the game was broadcast on ABC in front of the first sellout crowd in the game's history.
In a year in which JSU and HBCU football has been catapulted into the national spotlight by the presence of the greatest defensive back of all time, the Tigers fell 31-10 to Georgia in a game in which the greatest defensive back of all time was on the field.
After the game, he said that South Carolina State kicked their butt. Every way, every fashion. Out-physicaled us. We were thrown out. More disciplined than us. I feel like we were over confident, and overlooked them as if they were going to hand us the game.
It was a week of incredible highs and devastating lows for the family, as Shedeur became the first HBCU player to win the Jerry Rice award, while his father, Willie, took home the Eddie Robinson coaching award.
Is it worth it?
Do the positives outweigh the negatives that have taken place?
I will let you decide. Let's take a look at them.
The good.
The bad
Barstool is the most racist, homophobic, and misogynistic sports site on the web. He said that he was told to go there by God.
At a pep rally in the middle of a Pandemic that put multiple people at risk just to celebrate his arrival, he attacked players that were choosing their health and opting out of sports. The game will go on without the players. Don't forget that this is a business. The game is the biggest one. Only the ref, umps and officials are important to the game. He said, "Not you!"
After defeating Edward Waters College 53-0 in their season opener in the spring, the performance that JSU's players put on was hijacked by Sanders as he made the postgame press conference all about how his clothes and valuables were stolen during the game. The news conference was going to be the best news conference you have ever seen, as usual, but as always, it was about him. A boombox was stolen from his car. The radio was returned in a video that was posted days later. The only reason we knew about these incidents was because they were told to us by the center of attention.
In an attempt to drum up convenient outrage, in May, Sanders took to social media to share his disbelief that there weren't any HBCU players taken in the 2021. He forgot to mention that this was the ninth time since 2000 that an HBCU player wasn't selected, and that the family had a new-found love for HBCUs. His father was on an HBCU payroll and Shedeur was committed to Florida Atlantic.
On SWAC Media Day, a reporter called him by his name after he walked out of a media availability. You don't call him 'Nick'. "Don't call me Deion, I'm not that guy."
A Black reporter was banned from covering the team because he knew that they were going to be asked some tough questions after a report about a recruit who was charged with assault.
The issue of HBCUs taking part in "buy games" was raised in September. He said that they were supposed to lose by all accounts. We are not supposed to be in this game. We are getting paid to lose. We are getting paid to lose. We will see how that works out. Getting paid a large sum of money to get beat up on by a better opponent is something that is not something that Sanders can take. He doesn't realize how much money goes to the athletic departments of HBCUs.
It was reported in November that he was an alleged candidate for the head coaching job at TCU before his first full season at JSU. Less than two months earlier, he claimed that he was locked-in. He has never denied that talks did not happen between him and TCU.
Earlier this month it was revealed that JSU alum and current model Brittany Renner was brought in to speak to his team during the homecoming game so that she could give them a game. The stereotype that women are always at fault when male athletes find themselves in compromising situations with women is a belief that has been held by Sanders.
According to the paper.
Quaydarius Davis, an incoming four-star wide receiver from Dallas, was expected to plead guilty on a charge of assault causing bodily injury family violence in Texas.
A Black reporter was banned from the school for doing his job because the Black coach claimed to be about uplifting Black people. That isn't supposed to happen at HBCUs.
Think about that.
The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor have made it convenient to finally start caring about Black lives. The trend of supporting HBCUs is at the tip of the larger trend.
In the summer of 2020, Makur Maker became the highest-ranked basketball recruit to ever choose an HBCU, when he committed to Howard University. It was said to be a game-changing event. Maker blamed Howard for the reason why he didn't get drafted.
Master P claimed that he was going to get his son a $2 million NIL deal as he was going to play college basketball at an HBCU. Master P blamed HBCUs and Tennessee State for their lack of medical resources as his son was transferring after one season.
Prime Prep, the high school that was named after him, was closed due to the way it negatively affected the lives of student-athletes. The Texas high school program that was so corrupt that it got kicked out of the state's Association of Private and Parochial Schools was the last job for the man before he took over at JSU.
I asked if it was worth it.
Is the attention that people like Maker, Master P, and Sanders have brought to HBCUs worth the drama and baggage that comes with them? If the program is going to be in foreclosure in a few years, what is the point of building a million-dollar program?
I see JSU in the not-too-distant future, as I predict multiple NCAA violations during the tenure of Sanders, and instead of being there to deal with the consequences, he will most likely have already left for a better job at a PWI.
When Corporate America remembers that we exist, HBCUs are given a platform to be celebrated. At this point in time, we are at a point where some HBCU fans and alumni are beginning to adopt the same mentality that is prevalent and accepted at PWIs, in which the actions of the school's football coach don't matter as long as things are going.
We have survived and thrived on how we can endure, which is why HBCUs were created.
The HBCU experience has to be lived. Too many people who didn't attend HBCUs have too much say in how they operate. He works at one and is not an HBCU graduate. He is no different than the people who only care about us when it is Homecoming season, or the people who only care about their boss when they mention a friend or family member that attended an HBCU.
The spotlight that Deion has brought to Jackson State University and HBCU football cannot be questioned. If the value of HBCU culture should be lowered for a man that will only be around as long as it is in his best interest, then that is something that needs to be examined.
