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Deion Sanders hired as the next head coach for the University of Colorado football.

It was a good ride but we need to let it go. The question being posed by brother Neely, the host of Thee Pregame Show, as to whether JSU did anything, or did enough to retain coach prime – is really a moot point at this stage in the game. If you watch the Deion Sanders Tours Colorado’s Campus for the First Time: you can see firsthand what he is enamored with.

First off, Deion always said that he wasn’t there for the money because he was wealthy, so then, why did he leave for the money? He said he was on a mission from God, and no one can argue that, but when he came to Jackson State, he knew what we could offer.

I am waiting for the second shoe [lie] to drop. The first one was from his insistence on his “calling from God” to build something special among black student-athletes. This other one is where he constantly said, he would never coach in the NFL because of the attitude, egos, and salaries of some of the players. As in politics, words don’t mean a thing in coaching, or when it comes to one’s [personal] ambitions. Were the players who transferred to JSU solely to play for him, or the parents who persuaded their sons to leave their previous schools to go to JSU dupped? Were they “Hood Winked, or did they just learn a valuable life lesson? It’s a matter to be debated.

Second, when a man or a woman, decides to leave the wife or husband for another man or woman there’s [really] nothing you can do about it. It’s like when the husband or wife leaves their partner for someone who makes more money than their current partner. We say it’s all about love, but we all know that when it comes down to it in a relationship, it’s about the money. The sex and the love may be foundational things, but the lore of a (perceived) better life with someone with a bigger purse wins the day.

Third, one noted commentator made the statement that he doesn’t owe Jackson state anything. Well, he may not owe Jackson state anything, but Jackson State did put him on the national stage coming from an unknown private high school in Texas. JSU gave him a platform on a stage larger than the one he was on and he capitalized on it, made good on his commitment to deliver a winning program and now he’s moving on. One can’t argue the two consecutive winning seasons and back-to-back SWAC championships.

Brother Neely, the host of Thee Pregame Show,  was not one of the people who said it early on, but some of the same people now who are harping about why Deion’s leaving were some of the same people who questioned him being hired [without any college coaching experience] in the first place.

So, here we are, back where we were – moping around, whining, making excuses, pointing fingers, and basically missing the whole point. He’s leaving because of his flamboyant nature and ego, and yes – the money bag. It’s called “Love ‘em and Leave ‘em”, or “Using something as a Stepping-stone”,

So, another black man leaves his black family for a white woman.  Deion has spent his entire college in professional life in predominantly white environments. So, his move to Colorado is nothing new. He is simply going back home. The buffalos ain’t SWAC that’s for sure. Maybe Eddie Robinson, Jr. had a point here.

As in my marriage analogy above, all of the rhetoric he posted about his mission from God to build character in the young black men at Jackson State is all lost to me, with him deciding to go to a predominantly white school with a 2% black student body and a post-season won-loss record of 1-11. Go figure.

Let’s not forget some of us remember the days when Jackson State was a powerhouse in SWAC football and this was before Deion came on the scene.

• Are we going to lose some top recruits, yes?
• Will some of the glare of the [inquisitive] media lights on Jackson State dim a bit, yes?
• Will those of us who (truly) love our school abandon it and quit setting fan attendance records at our football games, I don’t think so.
• Will black students – many at the urging of their parents – stop enrolling at HBCUs in general and at JSU in particular, I don’t think so.

What we had before Deion came on the scene at Jackson State, and in Jackson Mississippi, we still have, and that’s a great school with nationally ranked degree programs, a great student body, a great culture within the HBCU ranks, and a wholesome, loving, and nurturing environment. Deion didn’t bring us those things, they were there before he came, and they will be there after he’s gone.

My loyalty lies with Jackson State University, and not with Deion Sanders.