The internet is flooded with racist accusations as Chedure Sanders, once predicted to be drafted in the top five, fell past the fourth round without being drafted.
ESPN hot take artist and future Democratic presidential candidate Stephen A. Smith has stopped claiming racism in Sanders’ downfall, but he has called out the names of the most controversial players in NFL history.
On Friday night, when Sanders fell from the second and third rounds, Smith took him to X to call the situation a “stigma,” and accused the NFL of running a “Kaepernick-Level Collusion” campaign to keep him away from the league.
“This is a damn dishonor, how about hell? @shedeur It hasn’t come off a board that has not yet been drafted. Y’all doesn’t think this has anything to do with the team’s hatin yet. @DeionSanders This kid is in his first round. Another way, this is Kaepernick. Damn dishonor. I don’t care what anyone says! ”
In a subsequent post, Smith shared a message that he received criticised NFL owners, comparing the situation to “Kaepernick-Revel Collusion.”
Smith did not explicitly mention the race, but Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool’s sports, was opposed to the idea that race blames Sanders’ fall.
“This is insane. Everything about these races is insane,” Portnoy writes. “I love Deion. And for two years, Shedeur will be my first QB. But the NFL GMS, coaches and owners do anything to win the game and save jobs.
Portnoy also pointed out that the first quarterback was black.
“If the team can help Chedur and everything he brings to win the game more than anyone available on the board, they’ll draft him. That’s it. The end of the story. All the other stories are fantasy.”
