Deion Sanders received a ‘highly credible threat’ before a game against Colorado this season, security team reveals
Colorado coach Deion Sanders made a name for himself in the college football world and became a Buffaloes icon in just three seasons, but the former NFL player has also become a polarizing figure for some. And, according to his security team, he was subjected to multiple threats because of it.
In the latest season of the “Coach Prime” documentary that aired on Prime Video earlier this week, Sanders’ personal security, Officer Michael Rhodes, revealed that Sanders had received a “very credible threat” before the game during season 2024.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, center, takes the field with his team before the Alamo Bowl NCAA college football game against BYU, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
“Coach gets a lot of mail every day, a lot of packages — a lot of gifts,” Rhodes said in the second episode as he put on his gloves in preparation for going through Sanders’ mail.
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“As he’s publicly stated, he’s been getting a lot of death threats, a lot of hate mail, so as a precaution we’re going through the mail very carefully. Put these gloves on just to make sure we don’t come into contact with any kind of dangerous material.”
Rhodes said he served as a member Jackson State’s campus police for about 10 years when he was asked to be a member of Sander’s security during his tenure there. When Sanders was offered the job in Colorado, he asked Rhodes to join him.
Since then Rhodes has had his hands full.
University of Colorado Buffs head coach Deion Sanders walks off the field with his security detail after the University of Colorado Buffs beat the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium on October 7, 2023 in Tempe, Arizona. (Bruce Yeung/Getty Images)
He said in the episode that before the September 14 game against State of Colorado, they received “multiple threats regarding people trying to harm the coach.”
“There was a very credible threat — two people who tried to tackle the coach before, during or after the game,” he continued. “So we had to have multiple law enforcement agencies there — SWAT team, CSUPD as well as Boulder PD.”
Rhodes said he keeps his head “on a turntable” during games, watching for potential threats in the crowd and around the stadium.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders looks on from the sidelines during the first half of the Alamo Bowl NCAA college football game against BYU, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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“Not everybody likes the coach. With all the death threats, I don’t know who’s who. I have one job, and that’s to make sure the coach is good, that he’s safe, so I can go out and coach the team to victory.”
The Buffaloes closed out the 2024 season on a high note despite a loss to BYU last month in the Alamo.
Colorado is making its first bowl appearance since 2020 and has sold out every home game in the past two seasons — the first time in the program’s 134-year history. Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy, and he and Shedeur Sanders are expected to be first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft in April.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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