Since his mid-December hire as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, Deion Sanders has been getting it done. From solidifying his coaching staff, to landing a top-30 recruiting class for the struggling Buffaloes program, Sanders has been very busy. By all accounts Sanders and the Colorado community have embraced each other.
But there’s also been some whispers about how Sanders handles his program from a religious standpoint.
Freedom From Religion Foundation Upset With Deion Sanders
Anyone who followed him at Jackson State knows that he had players lead the team in prayer before and after games. Well reportedly, that same practice has been going on at Colorado, and in late January, the Freedom From Religion Foundation targeted Sanders saying he was mixing “football games and events with Christianity.”
The FFRF is an atheist activist group located in Madison, Wisconsin, and in a letter addressed to the school in late January they accused the Pro Football Hall of Famer of what they deem “inappropriate and unconstitutional actions.”
The group deemed Sanders has been consistently “engaging in religious exercises with players and staff members.”
In fact they even mentioned the date that this reported act took place.
“It is our understanding that on December 20, 2022, a staff member led the other staff members in a Christian prayer to start an official meeting,” the letter reads. “More egregiously, on January 16, 2023, Coach Sanders directed a staff member to lead players and coaches in Christian prayer before a team meeting.”
While he was coaching at Jackson State, he required his team to participate in prayer. He would gather all his players and told them:
Repeat after me… Lord, I love you. Lord, I thank you. Lord, I magnify you. Lord, I glorify you. Keep us, guide us, lead us, protect us, direct us. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord for everything, for all things, for more to come. Without You, I wouldn’t be a thing! A thing! A thing! In Jesus name. Amen.
The foundation then called upon the university to ensure that Deion Sanders “understands that he has been hired as a football coach and not a pastor.”
Sanders brought that same belief in prayer to Colorado. These acts were expressed in the letter addressed to school Chancellor Phil DiStefano.
Sanders has never been ashamed of his faith, nor has he ever shied away from it. Sanders has always been front and center about his belief in a higher power, but not everyone is OK with him spreading his beliefs, and that’s what’s caused this minor uproar.
FFRF Says Sanders Is A Football Coach Not A Pastor
In the letter sent, the foundation asked the school to protect students, while also making sure the legendary NFL cornerback knows that “he has been hired as a football coach and not a pastor.”
They also asked that Coach Prime be trained on what is and isn’t proper protocol as it pertains to religion.
“We request that Sanders be educated as to his constitutional rights duties under the Establishment Clause,” the text continued. “He may not promote religion in his capacity as head coach.”
Deion Sanders Goes Through Training On Religious Acceptability
Following a meeting with the college’s Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance, Sanders reportedly went through training on what was acceptable. And from reports he was very open to what was asked of him.
“Coach Sanders was very receptive to this training and came away from it with a better understanding of the University of Colorado’s policies and requirements of the Establishment Clause,” the response letter read.
Sanders Has Always Thanked And Praised His Higher Power
From his introductory presser, Sanders has openly thanked his higher power. In fact, there aren’t many interviews where he doesn’t bring up his faith and Christian walk. But unfortunately, that evangelism isn’t going to fly at Colorado or any other Power Five program. He did it with regularity at Jackson State and there was never any blowback that was ever reported, because it was his show 100 percent.
But he’s no longer at an HBCU in Mississippi, where that obviously was much more accepted and not frowned upon. Sanders often starts his day with a social media prayer on both of his Twitter and Instagram accounts, and from the sounds of it, that’s about as far as he’ll be able to spread the gospel at Colorado.
