by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton
‘We’re going to make an example out of him. And this came from a very good source, a very good source.’
In what may be the biggest case of collusion since former quarterback Colin Kaepernick was not given another chance to play in the NFL, an NFL Hall of Famer (no, not Deion Sanders), Eric Dickerson, feels this was the case with Cleveland Browns rookie, Shedeur Sanders not being drafted until the fith round of the most recent NFL Draft.
Dickerson claimed that he had insider information when speaking of the alleged directive from the league earlier this year. Their reason? To make an example out of him. It was rumored that he wouldn’t go to several teams and, like many players before him, was trying to place himself in a better situation in terms of the teams that would draft him. His father, Deion Sanders, was also another speculative factor, as he did not want his son suiting up for certain teams that were in position to pick him. Although many white players have done so in the past, it was viewed and speculated by many as racism that the NFL did not appreciate a Black man trying to tell them what they can and cannot do.
“I tell you this much, what I heard from someone that’s in the NFL that the NFL told [teams] don’t draft him, do not draft him,” Dickerson told Roggin and Peete. “We’re going to make an example out of him. And this came from a very good source, a very good source.”
Before the Browns picked him with the 155th selection, Dickerson stated that the team had called and was told to draft him. Sanders was an anticipated Top 3 pick before the draft, but suspiciously fell to the fifth round, ramping up rumors of the league plotting to have him fall in disgrace. However, lesser-known players who did not have the same stats or win-loss record as Sanders were being selected.
Dickerson said that the Browns were notified and told to select him.
“He said that–– I won’t say who–– somebody called the Cleveland Browns and said ‘don’t do that, draft him,’” Dickerson said. “Because they weren’t going to draft him either… They were forced into drafting him because somebody made a call to them.”
“They were going to have him not get drafted to basically show you ‘this is what happens when you do this.’ I mean, look, [Roggin], the NFL’s got all kinds of power, they do all kinds of stuff. You know it and I know it too.”
You can hear the full conversation at this link.
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Source: Black Enterprise
