Deion Sanders. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Shannon Sharpe responds to Deion Sanders' take on undrafted HBCU players

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 5/1/23

Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe has responded to Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders being "ashamed" that 31 NFL teams didn't draft players from historically Black colleges and universities this year.

"The NFL is a business," Sharpe said during Monday's edition of the FS1 "Undisputed" program, per Brandon Contes of Awful Announcing. "The NFL doesn’t give a damn what color you are. They don’t care. They want to win. Pro sports is a bottom-line business. The only things that are on the menu, wins and losses...how many guys can we get who can help us win? I don’t give a damn of their color."

Sanders offered his controversial take on Saturday after Isaiah Bolden from Jackson State, Sanders' previous employer, became the only HBCU player drafted this year in the seventh round.

So proud is you @isaiahbolden23 You deserved to be drafted much higher but I'm truly proud of u. I know how much u want this. I'm ashamed of the 31 other @nfl teams that couldn't find draft value in ALL of the talented HBCU players & we had 3 more draft worthy players at JSU. pic.twitter.com/BfEm3zIGPH
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) April 30, 2023

Meanwhile, Deadspin's Carron J. Phillips noted that Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud became the first Black quarterbacks to be picked with a draft's first two selections. According to Contes, Sharpe mentioned that four of the first five quarterbacks drafted this year are Black.

"What am I missing? There was once upon a time that was the case," Sharpe continued in his response to Sanders. "Not just at HBCUs, there were Black quarterbacks that were good enough to play in the NFL that got overlooked…I’m gonna disagree with 'Prime' on this one. I believe if the guys were talented enough to get drafted, I believe they would have gotten drafted."

Jeffrey Clark of Fox News pointed out in December how ESPN's Bomani Jones criticized Sanders for leaving an HBCU school for Colorado. It sounds like Sharpe believes NFL teams simply made business decisions during the draft as Sanders did late last year.

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