Shedeur Sanders’s Draft Fall: Perception
At Spotlight PR, we understand that perception is everything when it comes to public relations. Perception plays a large role in how people think about you and how they treat you. It is therefore easy to see how perceptions of Shedeur Sanders played a role in all of the narratives around his draft selection.
How the Perception of Shedeur Sanders Impacted His Draft Stock
The perception of media analysts was that based on talent, Sanders was a top 10 worthy pick. However, the analysts on TV may not be aware of the entire draft process and where teams ranked Sanders on their respective draft boards. By placing Sanders on a pedestal, fans were set up for disappointment when his name was not called. This also led to media backlash against the draft process. When analysts make a bad prediction on the air, they will create reasons as to why they got it wrong. This shows that there is a separation between the organization of the NFL and the media who reports on it.
The perception of Sanders from an NFL organization is likely due to his own actions. There are hundreds of collegiate athletes who hope to hear their name called during the NFL Draft. Out of the hundreds, a small percentage of those athletes could actively tell NFL teams to not draft them for any reason and still be selected.
By not participating in interviews with certain organizations and telling the media the reasons why a team should not draft you, you limit your options of who will take a chance on you. Sanders also skipped participating in the NFL Draft Combine, which is an invite only event that showcases the top prospects in the draft. Because of these factors, Sanders does take some blame in how people perceive his attitude towards the NFL. He partially hurt his own draft stock.
How the Perception of Deion Sanders Impacted His Sons’ Draft Stock
The perception of Deion Sanders plays a role in how Shedeur Sanders is viewed by the public. Deion Sanders has many supporters as well as many detractors because of his large persona. These sentiments impact his sons Shilo and Shedeur Sanders, who are also high-level football athletes.
Deion Sanders has been criticized for elevating Shedeur Sanders to a position some feel he doesn’t deserve through nepotism, a recent example being the backlash his family received following the jersey retirements of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders at Colorado. Being selected in the NFL draft at any position proves that you’re an elite athlete. However, being the son of one the best NFL athletes ever will be used against you if people perceive you as receiving more than what you have earned.
‘Flashy’ Black Athletes Are Perceived More Negatively in the Media
There is also the perception of the Black man, more specifically the Black male athlete. Carmelo Anthony’s assessment of how Black athletes are treated when they are confident, well-spoken, and flashy is not wrong by any stretch.
Deion Sanders could be considered one of the ‘flashiest’ athletes of all time. Deion Sanders assumed the nickname “Prime Time” and was known for both his high level of play and wearing gold jewelry and accessories at all times, even on the field of play. In his coaching career, ‘Coach Prime’ has been known to have rappers perform in his team’s locker room and for his players to carry themselves on the field with the same level of confidence and flash as he did.
Shedeur Sanders went viral after holding up his wrist to show off an expensive Audemars Piguet watch to rival-team Nebraska during pregame warmups. He continued holding up his wrist to show off the watch in touchdown celebrations throughout the season. The ‘watch flex’ celebration received love and was met with backlash by those who viewed the stunt as immature and unsportsmanlike.
After Colorado’s locker room was robbed of jewelry during a road game at UCLA, sports analyst Jason Whitlock commented on the impact of Deion Sanders’ locker room culture on the team.
“I don’t care where Deion came from 40 years ago, these pampered, elite athletes that have spent 40, 45 years, or even 15-20 years being worshiped – they have no street sense at all, they’re pampered elites,” Whitlock said. “When Deion is inviting the rap world into his locker room, into his sideline, into his game day experience, into his all-week experience, he’s inviting the gang criminal world into his environment.”
These sentiments from Whitlock, along with the media’s negative reactions to the Sanders family displaying and showcasing their wealth, shows how Black athletes are ridiculed for being both confident and flashy on and off the field.
The Scrutinization of Nepotism in Successful Black Families
Finally, nepotism has now been attacked in two professional sports leagues where a majority of the athletes themselves are Black. LeBron James was publicly criticized when he stated that his son, Bronny James, was better than some of the current NBA players while Bronny James was still a collegiate basketball player at UCLA. He was further criticized because many thought that Bronny James was only in the league through LeBron’s influence, including top ESPN sports analyst Stephen A. Smith.
“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father. Stop this, stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad,” Smith said. Nepotism in highly visible fields is more harshly scrutinized when the family engaging is Black.
Draft prospects whose fathers played in the NFL may believe they have greater influence on the process, and Sanders is not the first example. Eli Manning, son of NFL quarterback Archie Manning and brother of NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, actually declined to play for the San Diego Chargers after being drafted by them as the first overall pick in 2004, forcing the chargers to trade him to the Giants for Phillip Rivers and other draft picks.
Following Eli Manning’s career, which includes two Super Bowl wins as the New York Giants’ starting quarterback, many consider his draft move to be one of the best in NFL history. This raises the question: Are narratives created about an athlete’s attitude in the draft process due to what the athlete does, or what athlete does it?
Andre White is the Digital Media Specialist of Spotlight PR LLC. Check out our other writings on our blog, The Pitch.