Video: Deion Sanders responds to criticism he received for leaving Jackson State – AthlonSports.com

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Deion Sanders is used to being in the spotlight. The former multi-sport athlete and pop culture icon has maintained his celebrity status since the early 1990s.

But with that fame comes criticism, and Sanders has received his share of negative feedback since moving from Jackson State’s football program to Colorado.

Fellow former NFL player Shannon Sharpe posted a video to his Twitter account on Tuesday featuring a discussion he had with Sanders. In it, Deion addressed the criticism he faced during his transition period and offered his perspective.

“They only see what you didn’t do and they don’t give you credit for what you did,” Sharpe told Sanders, referring to Deion’s critics.

“People are hurt,” Sanders replied. “When people are hurt, often their first response is not the response that should be given. They say things out of emotion and anger, but I listen.”

What was more remarkable was Sanders’ next point. Deion said when he joined the Jackson State program, athletic director Ashley Robinson asked him to give the job a shot for two years.

Sanders noted that he instead stayed in school for three years. When Sharpe chimed in and hypothetically asked if five years would have been enough to satisfy the critics, Sanders replied that it wouldn’t.

Sanders’ macro stance appears to have been that he accomplished what he set out to do at Jackson State, and did it in a short amount of time. Because of this short time frame, critics accused him of leaving the program prematurely.

The decision to take the job in Colorado was ultimately up to Sanders, and he seems at peace with the move. Now his challenge will be to revitalize the Buffaloes program like he did for Jackson State.

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