Deion Sanders made it clear that when he became head coach of Mississippi’s Jackson State football team this year that he wanted to help spotlight all HBCU athletic programs. The NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl Champion has been bringing attention to the underfunded athletic programs at historically Black schools compared to their White counterparts and is helping to level the playing field to help get more kids from HBCU’s drafted.
Sanders recently put the school’s rivalry to the side with Alcorn State after finding out that the team missed practice because they lacked several resources, like having a full-time personal trainer. Last week, Alcorn State’s head coach Fred McNair revealed on his radio show that the NCAA requires a certified athletic trainer be present during practice. Alcorn State, however, only hired part-time trainers this year, according to the Clarion-Ledger and they weren’t available for last week’s practice on Sept. 13.
“This is something that needs to be fixed. This is an administration issue. This has got to be fixed. We’ve got to be able to pay somebody to be the Alcorn State athletic trainer, and we don’t have one. That’s disheartening,” McNair stated during the broadcast.
Sanders also defended McNair during a virtual press conference held by Southwestern Athletic Conference on Sept. 21 and stated that Alcorn State not having full-time trainers wasn’t the coach’s fault.
“Now, that’s a problem up top. That’s not him. That’s a problem somewhere else there that’s a problem for him. We need to address that, and whoever is allowing that to happen needs to be checked. That’s one of our treasures in the HBCU. We’ve got to have his back. If I can help, I’m going to help. Immediately. This is bigger than the little rivalry. They deserve to play and deserve to get down,” Sanders stated during the press conference
Coach Sanders also told reporters that there needs to be a brotherhood between coaches where they can “have the relationship that we could call each other” for assistance during a time of need.
The Alcorn State Braves square off against the Jacksonville State Tigers on Nov. 20
