Deion Sanders’ Son Returns to HBCU That Hurt Coach Prime

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Shilo Sanders visited his old school as a special guest for the P.R.O.M. (Please Return On Monday) Promise event, which was hosted by JSU’s Metro Jackson Community Prevention Coalition. The event encouraged hundreds of Jackson Public Schools students to stay safe during their upcoming prom nights. What makes this interesting is that this is the same school that harshly criticized Deion Sanders after he left for Colorado.

Deion Sanders upset many fans when he left Jackson State University to coach at the University of Colorado. Some people even called him a “sellout” for leaving the HBCU. After he left, a student was caught on video damaging a mural of Sanders at Jackson State. It is not known if the student was punished, but they did cause major damage.

It wasn’t just fans but even analysts like Bomani Jones who openly criticized Sanders, saying he “sold a dream and then walked out on the dream.” Later, Bomani Jones said he doesn’t blame Sanders for taking a higher-paying job, but he disagrees with the things Sanders said at Jackson State if he always planned to leave.

Jones discussed a September video in which Sanders said he was “called by God” to coach an HBCU. Jones thinks Sanders may have always wanted to coach a Power 5 school and didn’t plan to stay long at Jackson State. Even though Jones clarified the situation, he still bashed Sanders for his move. This situation highlights a common debate in college sports: whether a coach should be criticized for seeking a better opportunity after elevating their current program.

The fan backlash was particularly intense given the unprecedented success Sanders brought to the program, including two SWAC championships and the historic signing of No. 1 recruit Travis Hunter, feats that had put JSU in the national spotlight

All anyone could remember was his move to Colorado. Boulder made Sanders a household name, bringing him major spotlight with Nike’s deal, which was a major add-on to his resume. But despite that, fans couldn’t accept that he had upgraded. Now, it wasn’t like everyone was against Deion Sanders’ decision. His former players, like Jackson State wide receiver Isaiah Bolden, said they backed his move and publicly called out all the trolls.

“I don’t understand why people don’t see the positive,” Bolden said back in 2022. “Coach Prime came out of his pocket to build a great HBCU locker room… He did what he said he was going to do. He put HBCUs on the map, in my opinion.”

However, Deion Sanders is not the only one to face backlash for coaching moves.

An SEC coach faced the same backlash as Deion Sanders

Well, college football is not new to coaches getting backlash for their moves to build a better team. No one knows it better than Lane Kiffin. Last season, he jumped ship to LSU when his former team was about to play in the playoffs. The pro-Kiffin camp blamed the CFB schedule for putting the head coach into a tough season.

On the other hand, Ole Miss fans saw it as a selfish move, given the things Kiffin had been saying as rumors of a potential exit circulated. The Rebels made it to the playoffs’ semifinals and even defeated Georgia on their way. However, the whole fiasco didn’t help the team, as coaches had to decide whether to follow Kiffin to Baton Rouge or stay at Ole Miss.

Kiffin allowed some assistant coaches to continue till the playoffs, but that didn’t help the situation. The LSU head coach even faced backlash from fans when he left Tennessee for USC. Students and fans blocked Neyland Stadium and even set mattresses on fire. But even then, Kiffin made the move, just like Deion Sanders. Some of these wounds end up healing with time, but a section of the fanbase never forgets.

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