Shedeur Sanders’ draft night tumble sparked an uproar few saw coming — and many believe it has less to do with football and more to do with race.
As Sanders, the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, sat patiently waiting for his name to be called, social media erupted. Prominent figures suggested the quarterback’s fall was tied to racial bias, not talent — with some even comparing it to Colin Kaepernick’s NFL exile.
But not everyone is buying the narrative.
The Race Card is Played
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith led the charge, posting a dramatic claim on X (formerly Twitter):
“This is a bad look for the NFL. This feels like Kaepernick-level collusion… We’ll never believe this is about just talent evaluation again.”
Smith said he received a text message comparing Sanders’ situation to the Kaepernick controversy — and agreed with it.
Adding fuel to the fire, former Democrat Congressman Jamaal Bowman chimed in early Friday, accusing NFL executives of being afraid of “strong Black men.”
“They don’t care that he’s a leader, intelligent, tough… America continues to fear strong Black men who come from means and have a strong sense of themselves without submitting to the ‘dominant’ culture,” Bowman wrote.
However, Bowman’s take didn’t go unchallenged — users quickly pointed out that the first quarterbacks selected in the past three drafts have all been Black.
Conservative Pushback: ‘Insane’ and ‘Delusional’
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy quickly blasted Smith’s commentary as “insane.”
“Owners would stomp on each other’s throats to win. There’s no collusion. The first pick was a Black QB!” Portnoy posted.
Robbie Starbuck, a popular conservative influencer, also pushed back:
“The idea that Shedeur hasn’t been picked because of racism is just stupid. Teams are scared off by the circus, not his race.”
He pointed out that Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes — widely considered the best quarterback in the NFL — is Black, and Miami quarterback Cam Ward, also Black, was the first QB taken in the draft.
Media Figures Keep Race Debate Alive
Despite facts on the ground, the narrative kept spinning.
TNT Sports journalist Stan Becton suggested the New York Giants “don’t like Black quarterbacks” after they passed on Sanders — a claim that immediately received a community note clarifying that the Giants currently have two Black quarterbacks on their roster.
ESPN Radio’s Peter Rosenberg, meanwhile, argued that America’s discomfort with “brash” Black athletes plays into Sanders’ case — even if it’s subconscious.
“White America is historically angered by and scared of men like Shedeur Sanders,” Rosenberg wrote.
Faith Over Fury
Unlike the social media frenzy around them, the Sanders family stayed calm.
Throughout the ordeal, Shedeur Sanders leaned heavily on faith. His family posted Bible verses and messages of gratitude, not accusations.
When Shedeur was finally selected on Saturday, the Sanders home erupted into joyous celebration — no bitterness, no political messaging, just family pride.
Final Take: Was It Race, or Reality?
While media figures battle it out online, NFL insiders paint a different picture. Sources say teams were more concerned about the “circus” atmosphere Sanders might bring — from his flashy image to the constant attention that follows anything related to Deion Sanders.
Ultimately, in the high-stakes world of professional football, performance — and the ability to avoid distractions — still reign supreme.
In the NFL, it’s simple: win or get out. And teams, desperate to survive, don’t care about skin color — they care about scoreboard results.
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White people need to start playing the race card.
I had began to think that Stephen A. Smith might be gaining some objectivity regarding race but his take on this draft is a huge reach for the race card and his credibility to be objective is forever gone in my eyes. Why drag up the old has been Kapernick? He shot himself in the foot multiple times and there were those who refused to let go of the race card. He became a no talent bum who lost focus on taking care of the essentials of being a professional quarterback and decided to try to piss off as many people as possible with his shallow endless antics.
How many black players were drafted before Sanders? The NFL is predominantly black, with white males being in the minority. Sanders bought this on himself because of his attitude and refusal to run drills at the combine.