The Believer: Coach Prime Covers Time Magazine & Talks Diversity Among Head Coaches, Jackson State, & More
Coach Prime – Source: Joshua Kissi for TIME / Joshua Kissi for TIME
Deion Sanders graced the cover of TIME Magazine and discussed his departure from Jackson State, the “Prime Effect” and more.
With the success and attention Coach Prime has brought to the University Of Colorado it’s safe to say he’s changing College Football. He’s captivated the nation in ways other coaches dream of daily. However, they can’t seem to even take one step in the direction of making it a reality. For Coach Prime, it’s almost second nature and while most love it many can’t stand it.
Deion Sanders has been doing this for a while so it’s nothing new, but now he has a new accomplishment covering TIME Magazine.
In the cover story, he addressed the notion that his way of doing things has rubbed many the wrong way. In true Prime fashion, he was unapologetic in his response.
“We’re being unapologetically who we are…You can tell, by everything that we’re accomplishing right now, that we’re headed in the proper direction at a speed that is undeniably a lot more expeditious than many people would have suspected. Shoot, this is going to be good. It’s just like the trailer of a movie you’re seeing. Just wait until you see the whole dern movie”
Additionally, he addressed the lack of black head coaches in football and the reactions from other coaches to his way of doing things. Many coaches have anonymously given quotes to different sports personalities scolding his approach to coaching.
“If somebody has on a shirt that has wrinkles on it, I’m going to say, ‘Hey man, is your iron OK?’…I’m not going to pretend it’s not there. I’m too old to play games. I’m not one to sit up here and wave the racial flag because I’ve been given some tremendous opportunities.”
“We can play, but we can’t coach?…Seventy percent of us can be in the locker room, but we can’t lead ourselves? It don’t add up…The Bible says, in Ecclesiastes, there’s a time and a season for every activity under the sun…I believe it’s time that we make those strides.”
Prime took the focus off football briefly to reveal an upcoming project with Kevin Hart’s production company. Sanders and Hart are developing a half-hour comedy special based on his story. It was described in the cover story as “Entourage meets the gridiron.”
You can read the full TIME Magazine cover story here.
