On Saturday, the University of Colorado Boulder Buffaloes—led by Deion Sanders—had their very first loss of the season against the University of Oregon Ducks. Under Sanders’ leadership, the team was 3-0 until Saturday’s game.
Sanders’ confidence—which some have critiqued as being too much—has drawn immense criticism over the last several months. It makes sense since this country has always been uncomfortable with self-assured and confident Black folks.
However, Sanders puts his money where his mouth is and the Buffaloes’ success is proof of that. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said that the opposing team was more focused about online popularity as opposed to the game itself.
“The Cinderella story is over, men. They’re fighting for clicks, we’re fighting for wins. There’s a difference. This game ain’t going to be played in Hollywood. It’s going to be played on the grass,” Lanning stated in the video.
Sanders addressed this in the post-game conference. “I don’t say stuff just to say it for a click, in contrary to what somebody said. You better get me right now. This is the worst we’re gonna be,” Sanders stated.
Social media users couldn’t wait to rub Sanders’ loss in his face, with racism quickly taking shape; a gross clip from Django Unchained referring to Sanders’ loss that is circulating online underscores this. Renowned journalist Kevin Powell pointed out how deplorable this online behavior has been.
“THE RACISM toward @coachprime @DeionSanders IS DESPICABLE. But we have seen this movie before. Certain kinds of folks have a huge problem with confident and visionary Black males, including in sports. Be it Muhammad Ali or Michigan’s Fab Five, same kind of hater-ism,” he wrote.
One thing is for sure and two things are for certain: America is gonna America and continue to remind Black folks of how this country has always treated us. Sanders’ excellence will continue to be a sore spot for racists and there’s nothing that they can do about it.