OPINION: Deion Sanders represents the conference just like Eddie Robinson Jr., except with much greater flair and flash. It’s not Sanders’ fault that he’s a media darling and Robinson is an anonymous first-year coach.
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Twenty-six years ago, Nike unveiled a brilliant ad with dozens of multi-hued, multicultural boys and girls. They were pictured playing golf or carrying clubs, filmed on golf courses and city streets, looking into the camera or into the distance. Several made an adorably bold proclamation:
That’s my thought on the dust-up between Alabama State football coach Eddie Robinson Jr. and Jackson State counterpart Deion Sanders. After a brief postgame altercation following Alabama State’s 26-12 homecoming loss on Saturday, Robinson explained his grievance.
“I’m living on the shoulders of the SWAC,” Robinson told reporters. “He ain’t SWAC. I’m SWAC.”
I am Tiger Woods!
Make what you will of Robinson’s stiff arm after objecting to a bro-hug. He accused Sanders of speaking disrespectfully ahead of the contest, walking through ASU’s pre-game warm-ups, and trying to run up the score instead of taking a knee. Those could be reasonable gripes depending on your perspective, but the most interesting assertions are theoretical:
1) Robinson is representative of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
2) Sanders is not.
“One of the comments that disturbed me out of all the comments, that I’m not SWAC,” Sanders told reporters. “If I ain’t SWAC, then who is SWAC? Baby, who is?”
Robinson couldn’t have picked a better way to improve his visibility. Despite the moniker, he isn’t the son of an HBCU legend. He’s also not a one-name celebrity who’s viewed as the HBCU sun that fellow coaches merely orbit. Nevertheless, Robinson has unquestionable credentials—a former Alabama State linebacker and two-time SWAC Defensive Player of the Year who played 11 NFL seasons and reached Super Bowl 34.
But Sanders is Tiger Woods and Robinson ain’t. Never one to waste publicity, Sanders wore a brand-new hoodie while dancing into a team meeting Tuesday morning. The front asked, “Who is SWAC!?!” The back answered: “I am SWAC!!”
He doesn’t have Robinson’s HBCU lineage and might not share a connection much longer, but Sanders is correct. He represents the conference just like Robinson, except with much greater flair and flash. It’s not Sanders’ fault that he’s a media darling and Robinson is an anonymous first-year coach.
“As it relates to the post-game press conference, I would like to apologize to Alabama State University President Dr. Quinton T. Ross, Jr., Board of Trustees, our alumni, faculty, staff, students and supporters for my choice of language,”
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