Deion Sanders may have put an end to hearsay speculating that he and his youngest daughter, Shelomi Sanders, are not on speaking terms following her departure from the University of Colorado Boulder.
The sophomore transferred from the school to Alabama A&M in April after one season with the Buffaloes’ women’s basketball team. Her father remains at Boulder as the head football coach, where he continues to guide sons Shedeur and Shilo Sanders’ athletic careers on the gridiron.
Though out of the mix on campus in Colorado, Shelomi is still fulfilling her duties as the baby of the family and vying to land the No. 1 spot on Deion’s ever-changing favorite child ranking. He shares the three children with his second wife, Pilar Sanders.
For years, the former Atlanta Falcons star has shared the list, proving that all five of his kids— including his eldest children, Deion Sanders Jr. and Deiondra Sanders, both of whom he shares with ex-wife Carolyn Chambers — can become his favorites on any given day.
His baby girl, however, declared herself the ultimate Sanders on Sept. 23. To the surprise of Coach Prime’s Instagram followers, it also marked her return on his social media.
He posted a carousel of images, two showing off the shirt Shelomi wore, ranking herself as her father’s top offspring, and others of her from the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s media day in her maroon and white school garb.
“@shelomisanders thinks she’s #1 in my kids Rankings. I Love u baby but you’re NOT #1 right now your sister @deiondrasanders is because she just had her Lil Baby but I love the shirt. I’m proud of u and I’m happy for u getting a chance to do yo thang this season.”
Deion became a first-time grandfather on his 57th birthday, Aug. 9, when Deiondra welcomed her first child, a son, with her boyfriend, singer Jacquees.
Though several comments found the humor in Shelomi being outranked by a newborn, other hawk-eyed fans commented that their supposed father-daughter rift was finally over.
“Love seeing you two support each other Publicly again,” one person wrote. A second individual said, “So happy to see @shelomisanders back on unc feed!” When the basketball player entered the transfer portal against Deion’s wishes, he publicly criticized her decision.
“You don’t enter the portal — you get a team. You kind of get a team before you enter the portal. You don’t — that’s what I would advise a child…she has been truly advised,” he told the media. He would go on to harp on being a “real father” who tells his children where to go, not the other way around.
He continued, in part, “I’m the leader of the family. So I’ve been dictating where my kids go. Not them dictating to me where I go. I’m happy, I’m cool, I’m sound in Boulder.”
His ex, Pilar, was miffed by the lack of support shown to their daughter and unleashed her frustrations in a video posted on YouTube.
She called him out for his “disturbing” comments, accused him of sabotaging Shelomi’s recruitment opportunities heading into college, and blasted him for having favorite children who earn his support by letting him run their lives. Deion never publicly addressed her remarks.
But at least one of his followers shared a similar sentiment as Pilar about his ranking system. “Now Prime…I’m not feeling that written caption under Shelomi’s picture…even if it’s a joke…NOT feeling it Bro!” the comment read. When his ex shared a Sept. 23 collage of their daughter from the SWAC media day, people could not help but notice that Shelomi seemed to be radiating with happiness.
Nobody should be shocked by Deion Sanders. How he handled his marriage with Pilar exposed his true character. But let me keep my opinions to myself since people on here love to kiss his ass 🤷🏿♂️ pic.twitter.com/UCPicQiVNf
— Chris (@chrisloves93) December 7, 2022
One user commented, “Momma instincts. That was the best decision for her. She looks soooo happy now.”
While a second individual quipped, “The feeling you get, when you say BY daddy, I not your little baby girl anymore….Deion you see that SMILE. Mother’s always understand from the beginning.”
Deion’s otherwise well-received post comes weeks after he seemed to defend his reputation as being a present father. According to the football legend, he is one of the few Black male public figures filling that void in the media.
