Deion Sanders Scolds His Players After Colorado Professor Says He Was ‘Disrespected’ by the Football Team

• Deion Sanders addressed his football team after a professor said student-athletes were being disrespectful in the classroom
• Sanders' comments were caught on a video shared by Deion Sanders Jr., who creates YouTube content for the team
• "We gotta emphasize education," Sanders told his coaches

Deion Sanders is teaching his players an important lesson after a University of Colorado professor spoke out regarding their inattentiveness in the classroom.

“I have never felt so disrespected in my 10 years teaching,” the professor wrote in a letter which the Buffaloes head football coach, 56, read aloud to members of his team, as seen in a recent video posted on YouTube.

“Student[s] do not follow even minimally and it slows down my class so much. They make it clear they do not want to be there,” the professor’s letter read.

It continued, “I often have to repeat the same [thing] three and four times because student athletes are present but not really in class.”

For Sanders, the feedback was less than desirable — and he made sure his disappointment known to his team.

“You present, but you ain’t really there,” Sanders said. “You on the field, but you ain’t really doing nothing. You in a relationship, but you ain’t got no love. You at the mall, but you ain’t got no money. Got a lot of ability, but no darn talent … because you don’t think, that’s from a teacher.”

For the Buffaloes — who finished 4-8 after finding early success last season — the professor’s comments come as a reminder that they still have work to do inside the classroom.

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“Ninety percent or 95 percent of your roster ain’t going pro,” Sanders said in the video. “So coaches, we gotta emphasize education, we gotta emphasize life, we gotta emphasize the next step, the next elevation if it don’t work in the game.”

Deion’s sons quarterback Shedeur and defensive back Shilo are on the team, and Deion Sanders Jr. frequently documents the Buffs' behind-the-scenes drama on their YouTube channel. 

All of which made it important for the father of five to communicate his dissatisfaction, which comes amid an ever-present “NIL state of mind" — which Sanders calls a reward system that can be distracting.

“Today was not wonderful, but I’ll be darned if I allow these kids to get out of here without something,” he said. "Because this life that they’re getting ready to live, you gotta win with your mind, not your athleticism."