Ex-Denver Mayor has experienced double-standard Deion Sanders is facing as Colorado football head coach

Deion Sanders' coverage as head coach of Colorado football has been judged from a racially charged lens according to former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb -- who shared his thoughts in an Op-Ed on Uncle Neely's Thee Pregame Show website.

Webb called out Paul Finebaum for the SEC Network host's recent character attack on Sanders and called out the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News by name during his passionate piece.

"I lived under a microscope that often wasn’t a level playing field compared to my peers... I see the same thing happening to Coach Prime," Webb wrote. "At Jackson State, Coach Prime had a winning record, yet one ESPN sports commentator recently called him a 'Hollywood celebrity acting as coach.' ESPN sure loved that Hollywood when CU Buff games boosted viewership, yet now they try and use it to degrade Coach Prime. This person also ignored the fact that Coach Prime has been working with young athletes for decades.

"Would the same members of the media ever dare to call Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton the same? Are Denver Nuggets fans part of the 'Cult of Michael Malone'’? Absolutely not."

Deion Sanders receives hate at Colorado football but was told he doesn't belong in the SWAC either

It's been a career-long struggle for Sanders to be accepted in the coaching realm. He's been talked down on repeatedly as a Power 5/4 head coach while at CU by national pundits, but even while he was at Jackson State, he was told by a coaching peer that he didn't belong.

"He ain't SWAC," Alabama State's Eddie Robinson famously said after JSU defeated his Hornets during the 2022 season (h/t ESPN). "I'm SWAC, he ain't SWAC. He's in the conference, doing a great job, can't knock that, got a great team, his son should be up for the Heisman Trophy, I love Shedeur, great player, I love what he's doing for the conference. ... But you're not going to come here and disrespect me and my team and my school and then want a bro hug. Shake my hand and get the hell off."

When you call yourself "Prime Time," you have to expect resistance from many, but it has seemed nearly unanimous since he became a Division I head coach.