Boulder, Colo. – Deion Sanders has not attended football camps in Boulder, Colorado, this spring.
The University of Colorado said it couldn’t comment on a reason for his absence. ESPN, citing a source it did not name, said Sanders has been ill and out of the office recently.
Over the weekend, his son Deion Sanders Jr. posted a livestream video on YouTube in which he said his father remains at his Texas home and “feeling well,” according to USA Today. His son added in the video: “He’ll tell y’all soon enough what he’s going through.”
Sanders is required to operate a minimum of three on-campus football camps, according to the contract extension he signed in March. Sanders’ deal runs through the 2029 season and made him the highest-paid football coach in the Big 12 Conference.
The 57-year-old Sanders has struggled with his left foot since having two toes amputated in 2021 because of blood clot issues while at Jackson State. He missed media day in 2023, his first year at Colorado, after a procedure to remove a blood clot from his right leg and another to straighten toes on his left foot.
Sanders was a scratch last weekend as a keynote speaker at the Sickle Cell Disease Research and Educational Symposium in Florida. The organization posted on social media that “due to an unavoidable last-minute scheduling change, our originally scheduled Foundation Keynote Speaker, Deion Sanders ‘Coach Prime’ is unable to attend.” Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson was his replacement.
The Buffaloes open the season Aug. 29 by hosting Georgia Tech.
AD accused of stealing
Florida A&M University athletic director Angela Suggs was arrested Monday on fraud and theft charges for allegedly using a corporate credit card for personal use totaling more than $24,000 at her former job.
Suggs, 55, turned herself in and was booked at the Leon County Jail. She was later released on a $13,500 bond.
She was charged with two felonies: grand theft and scheme to defraud. She also was charged with four misdemeanor counts of false claims on travel vouchers.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Suggs made wire transfers, cash withdrawals and personal purchases at casinos during business trips while CEO of the Florida Sports Foundation.
The investigation began last November after the FDLE received a criminal referral from the Florida Department of Commerce’s Inspector General, which audited Suggs’ business credit card purchases and corresponding travel reimbursements at the FSF. The FSF is a direct-support organization operating under the Florida Department of Commerce.
The audit revealed that Suggs falsified travel vouchers by coding the unauthorized charges as meals, according to the FDLE. When asked about the unauthorized charges, Suggs claimed some were for business meals and others were accidentally charged to the business card. She failed to fully repay FSF for her personal expenditures, the FDLE said.
FAMU Interim President Timothy Beard said in a statement that the university is aware of the allegations connected to her work with a “former employer.”
“While the matter is unrelated to her duties as an employee at FAMU, we are monitoring the situation and will respond in the future as appropriate,” Beard said.
There was no attorney listed in jail records for Suggs, who in April hired 1993 Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward as the school’s men’s basketball coach.
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