Mind of Mike: Sub-Prime Behavior on Social Media

The latest sniping from the Sanders family is a bad look, plain and simple. Very few, except for diehard Deion Sanders fans (aka his cult) can defend it. And it simply doesn’t have to be.

We all know Sanders jettisoned 80% of the roster he inherited when he arrived at Colorado. And we all know he did it with little compassion and tact. The stories from players sent to the portal continue to come out. And while I disagree with how Sanders gutted the roster in an attempt to quick fix a 1-11 team, to each his own. Northwestern and USF were 1-11 and had new coaches last season. Neither gutted the roster and each went to a bowl game in season one, making Deion’s 4-8 record and last place finish in the PAC-12 look horrible. And those coaches didn’t have nearly the same long leash as Sanders at CU. They needed to win faster. But that’s not what this is about.

As a gold jacket Hall of Famer and one of the most polarizing athletes of our time, the brash and cocky Sanders was fun to follow as a player. He was amazing at Florida State, legendary with the Atlanta Falcons and his stints with San Francisco and Dallas cemented his winning legacy. As a player he could do no wrong. You could hate him as I did when he was with the 49ers or love him as a did when he played for my Cowboys. Regardless, you had to respect him. But Deion Sanders the coach is lacking. He’s not appearing to be overly likable and he certainly hasn't been successful. His FCS record is good but he still fell short with a much more talented roster than anyone else among HBCU coaches. His time at Colorado has been more about flashy content and video views than substance and his refusal to work as a recruiter and rely on the portal is lazy and uninformed. But again, this is about more than that.

Deion has raised his sons to be arrogant like he was and is. The recent Athletic story about how players were sent packing from Colorado could be deemed untimely. It’s May of 2024 and this story comes out a year after all this happened? Why? Clicks. But the responses of his sons and of Deion himself are buying into what people want — attention.

When Shadeur Sanders claps back at a player who complained about how his time at CU was handled by calling him “mid" and when Deion reacts to a twitter troll by asking if their son was going to be a top five pick like his will be, it’s all just defensive and childish.