Shannon Sharpe drops tough love truth bomb on Deion Sanders
Shannon Sharpe clearly didn't want to criticize Deion Sanders, but Coach Prime's recent lashing out at the local media during an August 9 press conference prompted the "Nightcap" host to somehow explain away why the Colorado football coach would feel the need to do such a thing.
As Sharpe believes, Sanders doesn't know how to handle not being the best.
"Since he's been playing sports, he's always been the best, Sharpe said (h/t On SI). "Always been told he was the best. For the first time, he's not the best."
In truth, that makes Sanders look immature. It's not clear if Sharpe was playing damage control for Coach Prime, but if he was, he missed the mark. Sanders is a professional who's been an analyst at the NFL Network and a spokesperson for AFLAC. He's a man beyond who he is as an athlete.
Coach Prime lashed out at Sean Keeler because The Denver Post columnist covered the Buffs coach in an overly negative way. Keeler admitted he had it coming. He made a mistake and ignored CBS Colorado's Eric Christensen because of a failed project between Coach Prime and the national CBS brand. He even belittled the AP's choice of words in questions for Sanders. All of this in aggregate makes Coach Prime look vindictive. Perhaps the stress of becoming a first-time grandfather got to him and he became a little cranky.
Shannon Sharpe knew Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes would not be contender in 2023
While everyone was overreacting to Colorado's three-game win-streak to start the 2023 season, Sharpe was a voice of reason; explaining that the Buffs are a few years away but enjoying the hysteria surrounding CU.
"I'm excited for him, I'm excited for the program," Sharpe said in September 2023 (h/t Bleacher Report). "Obviously, everybody knows I spent 12 years in Colorado, so I'm excited for Time and what he's bringing to the table.
"I think they're a couple of years away from that, but I'm excited for what they're doing right now."
There's never been bad blood between the two, and Sharpe's relatively level-headed, but perhaps misguided, take probably won't change that.