Jackson State head football coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders has been through a lot in the past nine months. For starters, Sanders had a foot issue from his playing days that required surgery in September.
That procedure didn’t go too well. Sanders developed blood clots and ended up in the hospital fighting to keep his leg. There were some contentious moments where doctors feared for Sanders’ life.
While hospitalized, Coach Prime had two toes amputated. Looking on the bright side, at least it wasn’t his entire leg.
Sanders’ close call also affected his children, who were tasked with keeping it private while dealing with the stress of their father’s medical challenges.
With Sanders up and about and looking like his normally spry self, his children have been making light of the situation and cracking jokes about the matter.
The latest Sanders child to crack on their dad’s new feet is his youngest child, Shelomi, who recently signed her letter of intent to play basketball for JSU. In a video posted to Coach Prime’s Instagram account this week, when Deion asked her to rub his foot, she responded:
“It looks like a turkey leg at the fair.”
Shelomi Says She’d Need Some Equipment To Make It Happen
In the video laughing and joking, Shelomi can be heard saying she’d need some gloves and cash to do that for dad. The “Must Be The Money,” rapper offered her a cool $100, which in her opinion may not be enough.
“That’s not worth a hundred,” Shelomi said.
She isn’t the only one of Coach Prime’s children to poke a little fun at Dad in the aftermath of what was a very serious moment for their family. Son Shedeur also got in on the ribbing.
In an earlier video, where the two were seen laughing and joking, Jackson State’s star QB hit his dad and coach with this:
“I just want to tell you something, Dad. I’m ten toes down for you.”
A confused Coach Prime responded, “What are you trying to say?”
Shedeur says it again …
“Are you ten toes down for me?”
Deion says, “No, I’m eight. … I think Shedeur just fell a couple spots on the favorite child ranking.”
All Jokes Aside Coach Prime Was In A Fight For His Life
While Deion and his children can joke about the situation a bit now, back in the fall that wasn’t the case. Sanders was hospitalized for about three weeks and missed three JSU football games.
"The hardest part was to look down there and see it… knowing I might never walk again." –@DeionSanders
Watch the full story behind Coach Prime’s amputation tonight at 8PM ET, presented by @ChevyTrucks. pic.twitter.com/zR96CVlWXE
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 8, 2022
He returned to the sidelines in a wheelchair as the Tigers clinched the East Division of the SWAC with a hard-fought win over Southern. Sanders then proceeded to guide the Tigers to their first 11-win season in school history, first SWAC title since 2007, and a trip to the Celebration Bowl.
On the recruiting trail, Sanders landed Travis Hunter, the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit and Kevin Coleman another top-50 recruit. The moves made history as JSU became the first FCS school and HBCU to land two top-50 recruits in the era of computer-generated rankings.
Now the Tigers are finishing up spring practice as they prepare to have their annual spring game Sunday on ESPN2. Another landmark moment for HBCUs and FCS football.
And that’s no joke.
