Deion Sanders wants to hire Warren Sapp at Colorado, but Sapp’s history raises concerns

Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders has confirmed at least twice since November that Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp would be joining his staff in Boulder, calling Sapp a “teddy bear” with a “wealth of knowledge” that will benefit his players after a 13-year career in the NFL.

But Sapp also has another history, involving violence against women, that has raised concerns in Colorado at the same time, leading to questions about his hiring there and how the university would address it after a previous scandal there led to pledges of no tolerance for domestic violence.

In 2017, Colorado’s then-head coach, athletic director and chancellor were punished after an investigation found they mishandled domestic violence allegations involving a previous assistant football coach.

The university still never confirmed Sapp’s hiring and gave this response Friday after being asked about it by USA TODAY Sports:

“There have been no conversations about hiring Warren Sapp for an assistant coach position at the University of Colorado,” said Steve Hurlbert, spokesman for CU Boulder.

USA TODAY Sports then asked if there were conversations about hiring Sapp for any job there.

“Not at this time,” Hurlbert replied.

Hurlbert also said Sanders isn’t going to comment beyond what he’s already publicly said about Sapp, which included him saying he was excited about “Coach Sapp” joining his staff.

Deion Sanders has said several times that he wants to add Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp to his CU coaching staff.

It’s not clear what job Sanders had in mind for Sapp at Colorado or if Sanders was waiting for an opening on his staff before having conversations with the university about hiring him. Sapp didn’t return a message seeking comment.

His potential hiring has led organizations that support domestic violence survivors in…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/deion-sanders-wants-hire-warren-124847528.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2024-01-13 12:48:47

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