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The controversy surrounding Shedeur Sanders continues to grow. His recent snub at the NFL Scouting Combine unleashed a storm of criticism that caused his draft stock to apparently plummet; however, it was not all criticism, some insiders and analysts came out to defend the young Sanders tooth and nail.
Last week, the former Colorado Buffaloes star quarterback decided not to participate in the combine tryouts. Although he was present at Lucas Oil Stadium, scouts and coaches got a bad impression of the player.
One criticism in particular caused the outrage of NFL insider Josina Anderson. According to Anderson, a quarterbacks coach called Sanders "brash" and "arrogant." However, the analyst openly disagreed with the coach and did not spare arguments in her criticism.
The "culture" of the new generation of athletes
NFL sources revealed to Anderson that this particular coach, whose name she did not reveal, "Seems to have issue with 'the culture' of athletes who have broad fame and financial success before entering the NFL." She highlighted that this coach seems to have problems with "certain athletes."
She explained that these opinions can bias pre-draft evaluations "because of evaluators who don't seemingly possess the discernment to detect intangible traits thata are connected to the will and drive to win without being a stat or delineated in an analytics report."
She urged scouts and coaches to leave their biases at the door so as not to affect the players' "stock & business". She recalled, "The modern-day college athlete is evolving, as is the scale of business and opportunities surrounding them before entering professional leagues."
College athletes are now brands
Anderson was not alone in defending Sanders and the new generation of athletes. In an opinion piece for Andscape, analyst Justin Tinsley noted, "What these unnamed NFL scouts and coaches need to learn is partly what josina Anderson addressed, college athletes are brands now."
He asserted that athletes like Deion Sanders' son "are conglomerates in the making." Furthermore, he hinted that the reason for the disdain toward Shedeur is a matter of prejudice, saying, "It never ceases to be frustratingly comical how only one race gets labeled 'brash' or 'arrogant.'"