As Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders prepares for his second season as head coach at Colorado, a sharply critical report regarding his program has emerged.
Last Friday, Steve Corder of AthlonSports.com published an item under this title: “Deion Sanders chaotic culture turns into locker room violence in Colorado.”
The article includes quotes from players who have left the university.
“It’s like a real-life Grand Theft Auto video game,” one former player reportedly told Corder. “There are many distractions with fights, guns, and money floating around. The environment is unlike any I’ve come from before.”
The report from AthlonSports.com includes allegations of bullying and violence and fighting over a gambling debt and a “gun culture.”
Via Brendon Kleen of AwfulAnnouncing.com, Sanders has threatened a “ramification” regarding the report.
Corder appeared earlier this week on Dan LeBatard’s show to discuss the report.
“I just know I’ve talked to these kids, these young men,” Corder told LeBatard. “They’re scared, they’re worried about repercussions. I’m just doing what I think is what’s right, what needs to be done. If this was going on anywhere, I would think that anybody would want to know about it. Whether it’s the university, it’s the state, whether it’s the players, families, whatever that may be.”
Is Corder or Athlon concerned about legal action?
“There’s no reason to worry,” Corder said. “I vetted my sources. I checked, I double-checked. I have multiple people that I trust. Once you talk to more than two, three, four people, I have to go with my gut and I believe these guys.”
Believing his sources is one thing. Getting sued and having to defend himself in court against a defamation lawsuit backed by a deep-pocketed institution like Colorado and fronted by a charismatic and compelling coach like Deion is another.
Frankly, the mere existence of the report is a triple-dog dare to Colorado and Sanders. If it’s not true, sue. If you don’t sue, maybe it’s true.