by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
October 29, 2023
Deion Sanders is letting it be known what Black people don’t do, in a way that some might feel more than likely plays into stereotypes. In conversation at the Colorado Football Coaches Show, Coach Prime detailed what activities Black people do not engage in, without offering any real reasoning.
Sharing “three things Black folk don’t do,” the former HBCU football coach made clear what outdoor sports are just activities Black people don’t like to to participate in, according to Sanders.
“We don’t deep-sea dive,” he shared, while his Colorado Buffaloes team had a bye week. “We don’t bungee-jump. We ain’t noodling, all right? We don’t do that.”
Instead of explaining the legitimacy of his claims further, Coach Prime stated his distaste for catfish, disassociating himself from the likely assumption that Black people are fans of the popular seafood. According to NewsOne, the former NFL player referenced the fish in noodling, which is the practice of catching catfish with one’s hands or feet.
“I’m not getting in the water to do that, first of all,” Sanders continued when addressing the risk of getting bit while noodling. “I’m not a swimmer, either. That is unbelievable.”
While he never broke down why Black people, from his perspective, do not bungee-jump, he did share his brief insights into why the Black community isn’t known for its passion for deep-sea diving. Or maybe these are activities Sanders just prefers to avoid.
“We ain’t going down there. Ain’t nothing down there I want to see,” expressed Sanders.
What Sanders may have failed to realize, however, is how his beliefs could perpetuate stereotypes that negatively impact Black people as a whole, given that his accusations were unfounded, at the very least, in deep-sea diving In September of last year, Dawn Wright became the first Black person to reach the deepest point known to human-life on Earth, as confirmed by CBS News.
Why Sanders decided to go on the rant that simultaneously played into the stereotypes he has tried to break is unclear, yet the fact remains these outdoor activities are not limited to non-Blacks.
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