According to a recent report, Coach Deion Sanders will do anything to ensure his son Shedeur’s success — even if that means threatening the Colorado football team to support his debut with Lil Wayne or be booted from the squad.
A recent report from Athlon Sports surfaced alleging that Sanders forced players to attend an on-campus Lil Wayne concert on the same day as the football team’s annual spring game. Coach Prime’s son and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was tapped to make his rap debut as an opening act. He performed an original song titled “Perfect Timing.”
According to the report, Coach Prime made it mandatory for his team to attend the concert in support of Shedeur. Anyone who did not attend was allegedly threatened with dismissal from the team.
“The Wayne concert was the final straw for a few players who hit the transfer portal,” Athlon reported an unnamed source said. “When Coach Prime told us we all had to be there to support Shedeur as a rapper, they were not happy at all. To be honest, it was nothing but a huge distraction, and Daddy Ball was being played.”
The accusations against Coach Prime quickly caused a firestorm, and on June 14, the head couch responded to the rumors.
“This is one of the best lies I’ve heard. God bless u and I pray u sleep well tonight because we are. Lawd JESUS,” he tweeted.
Camden Dempsey, Colorado’s long snapper, also responded to the rumors.
“Yeah all I can say is this is 100% false- we were never ‘forced’ to go to this concert,” he tweeted. “We are a team that supports all of our players, but this is just crazy. Might want to find a better source.”
On June 17, Coach Prime’s eldest son, Deion Jr., posted a TikTok video asking various members of the team if they went to the Lil Wayne concert and, if not, if they were punished in any way.
Every player responded that they did not attend the show because it was not mandatory. They also confirmed there was no punishment for their absence.
According to Shedeur, who makes an appearance in the clip, the rumors hold no merit because he was a last-minute addition to the performance roster.
“Hey man, that’s crazy because we didn’t even know I was going to perform,” the Colorado quarterback said. “How we decide five minutes (before), but dad had already predetermined? Dad didn’t even know we were gonna perform.”
In a separate clip, Dempsey suggests that he knows exactly who is spreading the rumors.
“I know a few players… I think I know one in particular that it came from,” Dempsey said. “I know there’s been one player in particular that’s been talking to the media. Just pissed off how they left the program.”
Dempsey did not disclose the names of who he believed the disgruntled players to be, but said that he “hopes the media finds better sources” because nothing they say will be factual.
Dempsey, added more context to the report, saying a former Buffaloes football player who left the program with a sour taste in his mouth provided the information to the outlet. He said he had a specific player in mind who he believed fed the information to the media outlet, although he stopped short of divulging a name.
Colorado hosts North Dakota State on Aug. 29 to open the 2024 season.