First-year Colorado football transfer accuses former Buffs who threw Deion Sanders under the bus of lying

First-year Colorado football transfer OL Justin Mayers stuck up for his head coach, Deion Sanders, after Coach Prime's name was dragged through the mud by former players in an expose from The Athletic aimed at painting him as careless and callous.

According to the former UTEP Miner, the players who left and aired out their grievances about how Sanders was supposedly unfair were lying about their situation.

"They really want you to prosper here not only as a player but as a man at CU," Mayers prefaced before saying, "Everyone here gets love and is pushed and held accountable at a Pro Level. Everyone here gets equal opportunity to play. All these players aren’t telling the truth when they leave here. They just 50/50."

Deion Sanders accused of destroying confidence of former Colorado football players, promoting locker room division

The quotes from former Buffs in The Athletic's Max Olson took aim at every facet of Coach Prime's character -- from his apparent inability to empathize, according to Xavier Smith, to his desire to see infighting according to Chase Sowell.

Smith's anecdote painted a picture of a head coach who purposely tried to belittle his players.

"He was destroying guys' confidence and belief in themselves," Smith said (h/t Bleacher Report). "The way he did it, it could've been done with a little more compassion."

Meanwhile, Sowell insinuated that Sanders wanted his transfer players to make the incumbent Buffs feel that way.

"We felt like it was us vs. them instead of all of us together," Sowell said. "That's the best way I can put it. The new guys were going against the players that had already been there. It wasn't a good environment to be in. It wasn't a team environment."

Ask Mayers and he'll tell you that those players are dramatizing the situation and trying to make a name for themselves at Coach Prime's expense.