Hall of Fame player-turned-head coach Deion Sanders is reportedly dealing with an unspecified medical malady that is so significant that he has to take indefinite leave from his head coaching duties at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
The eldest son of Sanders, Deion Sanders Jr., made the announcement during a YouTube livestream video from the family compound in Prosper, Texas, about 35 miles north of Dallas.
Deion Sanders Jr. is vague about what’s ailing his father
Being somewhat vague and ambiguous, Deion Sanders Jr., 31, said his father, also known as “Prime Time” and “Coach Prime,” is recuperating and is “feeling well.” However, the son doesn’t know how long it will be before his famous father is in the condition to fly back to Boulder, Colo., to oversee the summer football camp currently underway.
“He’ll tell y’all soon enough what he going through, what he went through,” Deion Jr. said on the YouTube livestream.
Deion Sanders Jr. said his legendary father is out indefinitely
The younger Sanders also intimated that it’s too soon to specify when Coach Prime, 57, will be back in action.
“When we get back in Boulder, I don’t know,” Deion Jr. said June 8. “I’m waiting until my dad leaves. When he leaves, then I’ll go. Until then, I’m gonna sit here with him.”
According to USA Today, Coach Prime explained to gridiron star Asante Samuel last month, “What I’m dealing with right now is at a whole ‘nother level,” but did not provide any specifics.
Forced to back out of speaking engagements
This may have led Coach Prime to back out of a scheduled speaking engagement at the Sickle Cell Disease Research and Educational Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on June 8. The organization would only say that the last-minute cancellation was “due to an unavoidable last-minute scheduling change.”
Coach Prime’s health issues are well chronicled. The former superstar cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons had to have his toes amputated prior to taking the head coaching job at Colorado. And in 2023, Sanders also missed the preseason Pac-12 media day due to further medical procedures on his foot.
On the bright side, it is early June, which means Coach Prime has ample time to recuperate in advance of the Buffaloes’ first game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Boulder on Aug. 29.
