‘You Grew Up In a Gated Community Your Whole Life’: Michael Irvin Blasts Rapper Son’s Fake ‘Thug Life’ Persona, Compares Him to Ja Morant

Social media is having a field day over sports commentator and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin accidentally letting the world know that his rapper son is lying in his lyrics.

It all started when Deion Sanders made a post on X (Twitter). Sanders, a devout Christian, often posts on his page about his faith and life. In this particular post, Coach Prime wrote, “How do you see yourself? You’ve got to start seeing you the way God sees you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.”

The Hall of Famer continued, “You are more than a conqueror. You are created to have dominion & you are blessed! Please understand all the positivity going on in your life & stop allowing the negativity to dominate your mind. You are God’s masterpiece & the light of the world. Now act like it. #CoachPrime.”

Michael Irvin accidentally exposed his son on a recent episode of "Undisputed."
Michael Irvin accidentally exposed his son on a recent episode of “Undisputed.” (Photo: @michaelirvin88/Instagram)

The post garnered many likes, retweets, and comments. One of those came from the Memphis Grizzlies franchise player Ja Morant. Morant has been one of the most controversial players in the league over the past year. The 24-year-old has gotten in trouble with the league over various clips and pictures of him brandishing a gun. Along with flashing the weapon, Morant also found himself embroiled in controversy after he allegedly assaulted a minor. The alleged 17-year-old victim said that he threw a hard pass at the NBA player during a pickup basketball game at Morant’s house which led to Morant taking it personally and punching the teen multiple times.

Due to his actions over the past season, Morant was suspended by the NBA for 25 games. Fans hope that Morant will make a turnaround before it is too late. Sanders’ post may have been just what the young star needed, as he left a comment saying, “Right on time prime [praising emojis] much needed [peace sign and meditating emoji].”

The subject of Morant and Sanders’ exchange was one of the topics brought up on an Oct. 19 episode of the Fox Sports 1 talk show “Undisputed.” The question was asked if “Coach Prime’s tweet will hit home with Ja?” Former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson said that he doesn’t know if it will hit home, but he knows that the star felt it.

Michael Irvin, a close friend of Sanders, got emotional after reading the tweet. “I’ve heard him say those same things to me,” Irvin told his co-hosts. He went on to say that he believes the post was the start of a mentoring relationship between Sanders and Morant and that Morant has to make a choice about the people around him.

“Everybody is not meant to go where you’re going,” Irvin told the panel. He clarified that Morant doesn’t need to cut people off, but must distance himself from bad influences.

The former Dallas Cowboy then drew a comparison to his personal life. “I got a son, he raps,” Irvin said, “His rap name is Tut Tarantino. If you ever listen to some of his raps, I’m like, ‘Oh my God. Where does this come from, son?’”

He continued, “You grew up in a gated community your whole life. But he’s rapping my life. But he’s rapping my life because romanticize and fantasize that old ‘thug life,’ ‘ghetto life’ and all that stuff. When we used to work to get away from it, we’ve now somehow gotten to a place we’re running back towards it.”

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Fans joked about the way Irvin seemingly threw his son under the bus out of nowhere. One viewer wrote, “Yeah, Mike is not happy with his son’s decision-making at all!” Another commented, “I know his son mad. Like, why is you exposing me on national TV, dog.”

Irvin’s point was that things are much different today than back when he was growing up. The football legend admits his generation used to roll around the same type of people that Morant does, but back in his day, those people told them to focus on sports and leave that lifestyle behind him.

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