“There’s Not a Conspiracy… We Do Our Due Diligence”: NFL Exec Claps Back on Deion Sanders for Accusing 31 NFL Teams of Intentionally Snubbing HBCU Players at the Draft

The NFL Draft is the time when hundreds of dreams are fulfilled. But there are thousands of others who aren’t that lucky. And Deion Sanders brought up the issue of HBCUs, as just a single player from the cluster of programs made it in the 2023 draft process. Now, an NFL executive has clapped back at Coach Prime for accusing 31 league teams of intentionally snubbing players from the HBCUs.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were once a pipeline of Hall of Fame talent coming into the NFL. That pipeline has dried a bit in recent years and Sanders thinks it is because of a sort of discrimination on the part of the league. But an NFL executive has refuted all such claims. Who is actually right in their assessment?

NFL executive responds to Deion Sanders’ allegations 

Deion Sanders has got a reply. Dallas Cowboys Vice President of player personnel Will McClay has refuted the allegations made by the current Colorado Buffaloes head coach who previously worked with Jackson State, an HBCU. McClay said that he knows Sanders wants to promote HBCUs and wants more players to be drafted from those programs. According to him, everyone wants good players and they come from everywhere.

“There’s not a conspiracy against drafting HBCU players. We’re looking for players that will come from anywhere. I think that we’ve had the opportunities in the NFL in having things to highlight the HBCU schools. I think the players have to have draftable grades. There’s 32 teams with picks in seven rounds and there’s also the free agency period, so it doesn’t matter where you start, it matters where you end up. I think we do our due diligence at all the schools and all the different places,” McClay said in a conference call with reporters.

McClay applauded Sanders for standing up for the HBCUs but also said that he stands with his colleagues in the league. And if there was just one player who got through the draft, that, for the Cowboys executive, means that there isn’t anybody else who could. That is where Sanders disagrees with McClay.

The Coach Prime take 

Deion Sanders had reacted after the draft when just one NFL team picked up a player from the whole cluster of HBCUs. He congratulated cornerback Isaiah Bolden, who went to New England Patriots as pick no 245. But Sanders, who coached Bolden at Jackson State, said he was ashamed that others didn’t make the cut.

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“We had 3 more draft worthy players at JSU,” Sanders said in a tweet.

Sanders achieved great heights with Jackson State, taking the team through an unbeaten regular season in 2022. So, he probably thought more players deserved a draft place this year. But the executives in the league don’t agree with that assessment. Which of the two sides is right on this issue? Do share your opinions in the comments.

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