Shannon Sharpe Pushes Back on Deion Sanders Criticizing NFL for Lack of HBCU Draft Picks (7766 hits)
NFL legend Shannon Sharpe publicly rebutted Deion Sanders’ criticism of the NFL after just one player from a historically Black college or university was picked in the 2023 NFL Draft.
On Saturday, Sanders congratulated Jackson State University cornerback Isaiah Bolden for being drafted by the Patriots. Sanders coached Bolden before taking the head coach position at Colorado University. In the tweet, he also called out the NFL.
“So proud (of) you (Isaiah Bolden),” Sanders said. “You deserved to be drafted much higher but I’m truly proud of u. I know how much u want this. I’m ashamed of the 31 other NFL teams that couldn’t find draft value in ALL of the talented HBCU players & we had 3 more draft worthy players at JSU.”
So proud is you @isaiahbolden23 You deserved to be drafted much higher but I'm truly proud of u. I know how much u want this. I'm ashamed of the 31 other @nfl teams that couldn't find draft value in ALL of the talented HBCU players & we had 3 more draft worthy players at JSU. pic.twitter.com/BfEm3zIGPH
Sharpe, who attended an HBCU before his hall-of-fame NFL career, pushed back on Sanders’s comments while on Monday’s episode of Undisputed on Fox Sports 1.
“Who are those players that should’ve been drafted, and what round should they have been drafted in?” Sharpe said. “(Skip Bayless), this is not affirmative action. Because there were times when Black kids couldn’t get into universities, so they had to (implement it). There were jobs Blacks couldn’t get, you had implement to it.
“But the NFL is a business. The NFL (says), ‘I don’t give a damn what color you are. You can help us win.’ That’s why they take guys with questionable character. They don’t care.”
Sharpe pointed out that the first 10 players drafted were all black. In fact, three of the first four picks were black quarterbacks. He said the lack of the HBCU representation is more of a skill issue as opposed to a race issue.
“I believe if the guys were talented enough to get drafted,” Sharpe said, “I believe they would’ve gotten drafted.”
