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Sheder Sanders relied on prayer and faith during this historic NFL project.
But some of his supporters have looked into something else.
ESPN star host Stephen A. Smith helped stir, whether intentionally or not, a heated debate on the role of the race in the drama of Sanders.
Smith revealed an SMS of an partner who compared the situation to Colin Kaepernick being outside the NFL since 2016 after his famous knees during the national anthem, in a post X. and Smith agreed with comparison.
“‘It is a bad look for the NFL. It looks like a collusion in Kaepernick’,” said Smith that the text was read, adding that the situation goes beyond “the assessment of talents”.
“All the hard work that the NFL League office carries out to eradicate this kind of perceptions, only to turn around and look at the owners seem to be collusion, spoil everything. What was done for SheDer will surprise everything in this project. We will never believe in a simple assessment of talents.”
The quarter-back errors of the NFL draft which shaped the landscape of the League
The quarter-back of Colorado Buffaloes Shemer Sanders (2) travels the tunnel for heating before the Rocky Mountain confrontation against the CSU Rams at Folsom Field on September 16, 2023. (Andy Cross / Medianews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
In a previous article, Smith wrote: “In a different way, it’s Kaepernick again.”
The founder of Barstool, Dave Portnoy, targeted Smith with an answer, calling for the position of the ESPN host “Insane” and a “race”. Portnoy made sure to express his “love” for the father of SheDer, Deion Sanders, in his response to Smith, and also pointed out that the first quarter-Arrière taken was Miami quarter, Cam Ward, who is black.
“It’s crazy. All these racing outlets are crazy. I love deion. And I say that for two years, Sheder would be my first QB out of the set. But the NFL GMS, the coaches, the owners will do anything to win games, save jobs. The NFL is cut. The owners.
“The first choice was a black QB. If the teams thought that Shemer and everything it brings could help them win games more than the guys available on the board, they would write it. That’s it. End of history. Each other story is fantasy.”
Other debates on the issue have raged fiercely, spreading deep into the political sphere.
Earlier Friday, even before Sanders fell after the second and third laps, the former member of the Democratic Congress Jamaal Bowman suggests with more without any doubt that he fell because “America continues to fear strong black men”.
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“The NFL does not like [Shedeur] Sanders, because he wears gold chains and speaks like a rapper. They do not care that he is a leader, intelligent, hard and completed 77% of his passes without O and without racing game. He was entitled but Eli Manning was not entitled when he refused to be drafted by San Diego? “Wrote Bowman on X.
“It is not athletic, but that did not prevent Joe Montana, Drew Brees or Tom Brady. America continues to fear strong black men who come from means and have a strong feeling of themselves without submitting to” dominant “culture.”
The original post of Bowman has since received a community note highlighting the fact that the first choices of the last three drafts were black quarters.
Conservative filmmaker Matt Walsh made fun of Bowman’s video with a sarcastic overhaul on X.
Radio ESPN host Peter Rosenberg has published a long -term thread on X, arguing that the race was a factor in the Sanders draft slide.
“Some (white) people may not understand why the race becomes a conversation around Sheder. It may or may not have something to do with what is happening here, but the relationship between America and the black athletes ” unforeseen ” has a deep history. White America is historically irritated and frightened by men like Sheder Sanders. Rosenberg.
Meanwhile, the host of the FTNT Sports went so far as to suggest that the New York giants passed on Sanders for Jaxson Dart because they “don’t like” black quarters.
“The giants do not like black QB that it has been documented over time. No question that they get a black QB with the personality of SheDer Sanders unfortunately,” wrote Becton.
However, the Becton post has also received a community note, stressing the fact that they have two black quarters on their list.
The quarter of Colorado Shemer Sanders speaks in the quarter of the Mississippi Jaxson Dart at NFL Football Scouting combines in Indianapolis, Saturday March 1, 2025. (AP photo / George Walker IV)
Conservative influencer Robbie Starbuck rejected the idea that Sanders was falling because of racism.
“Sheder Sanders could end up being great and the teams can regret not choosing it, but the idea that it was not chosen because of racism is simply stupid. The choice n ° 1 of the project was a black QB. The best QB of the NFL is half black. The teams are frightened by the circus, not its race,” wrote Starbuck.
The Sanders family itself did not make such suggestions on the breed. Instead, they have published biblical verses and messages on the thanks to God.
After Sanders was selected on Saturday, the family published a video showing a noisy celebration in their family home.
