Copyright Essentially Sports
The Warren Sapp pylon-kicking saga has been making rounds on social media for weeks now. It’s gotten to the point where Deion Sanders felt he had to address it head-on. Here’s what’s been happening. Before every Colorado game this season, Sapp walks onto the field and kicks over all four pylons in the end zone as part of his pregame ritual. This first caught attention back on October 4 during the Buffs’ loss to TCU, and then really blew up when it happened again before the Utah game on October 26, where the Buffaloes got absolutely demolished 53-7. What made the whole thing worse is that cameras caught Sanders, who’s dealing with blood clots and can barely walk without limping, following behind Sapp to pick up all the pylons his assistant just knocked down. Fans and media ripped into Sapp for what they saw as disrespectful, unprofessional behavior, especially doing it on an opponent’s field. The symbolism wasn’t lost on anyone. Here’s Coach Prime, literally cleaning up his assistant’s mess while dealing with serious health issues. Sanders finally shut down the noise during his press conference, trying to reframe the whole thing as an inside joke that people just didn’t understand. “Let me start by addressing some stupidity that happened a week ago, that someone tried to make a big deal out of,” Sanders said. “Coach Sap, knocking over the pylons, that’s our little thing. He knocks them down, I pick him up. That’s what defensive linemen do, right? They knock them down, the defensive back, pick them off. So that’s our little thing. Stop, try to make something out of nothing.” ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Sanders was basically saying it’s a planned routine between them. Sapp does what defensive linemen do (knock things down), and Sanders does what defensive backs do (pick things off), turning it into some kind of metaphor for their coaching relationship. Whether that explanation flies with people who think it’s disrespectful to opposing teams is another question entirely. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
