Shedeur Sanders leaned on prayer and faith during this historic NFL Draft slide.
But some of his supporters leaned into something else.
ESPN star host Stephen A. Smith helped to stir, whether intentionally or not, a heated debate about the role of race in Sanders' draft drama.
Smith revealed a text message from an associate who compared the situation to Colin Kaepernick being out of the NFL since 2016 after his infamous kneels during the national anthem, in an X post. And Smith agreed with the comparison.
"'This is a bad look for the NFL. This feels like Kaepernick-level collusion,'" Smith said the text read, adding that the situation goes beyond "talent evaluation."
"All the hard work the NFL League Office puts in to eradicate these kinds of perceptions, only to turn around and watch as the OWNERS look like they're colluding, messing up everything. What has been done to Shedeur will outshine everything else in this draft. We'll never believe this is about just talent evaluation again."
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In an earlier post, Smith wrote, "In a different way, this is Kaepernick all over again."
Barstool founder Dave Portnoy took aim at Smith with a response, calling the ESPN host's stance "insane" and a "race take." Portnoy made sure to express his "love" for Shedeur's father Deion Sanders in his response to Smith, and also pointed out the first quarterback taken was Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who is Black.
"This is insane. All these race takes are insane. I love Deion. And I've been saying for two years Shedeur would be my first QB off the board. But NFL GMs, coaches, owners will do ANYTHING to win games, save jobs. The NFL is cut-throat. Owners would stomp on each other's throats to win. There is no collusion," Portnoy wrote.
"The first pick was a black QB. If teams thought Shedeur and everything he brings could help them win games more than guys available on the board, they'd draft him. That's it. End of story. Every other narrative is fantasy."
Other debates over the issue have raged fiercely, branching deeply into the political sphere.
Earlier on Friday, before Sanders even fell past the second and third rounds, former Democrat congressman Jamaal Bowman more bluntly suggest he has fallen because "America continues to fear strong Black men."
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"The NFL doesn't like [Shedeur] Sanders, because he wears gold chains and talks like a rapper. They don't care that he's a leader, intelligent, tough and completed 77% of his passes with no O-line and no running game. He's entitled but Eli Manning wasn't entitled when he refused to be drafted by San Diego?" Bowman wrote on X.
"He's not athletic, but that didn't stop Joe Montana, Drew Brees or Tom Brady. America continues to fear strong Black men who come from means and have a strong sense of themselves without submitting to the 'dominant' culture."
Bowman's original post has since received a community note pointing out the fact that the first picks in the last three drafts have been Black quarterbacks.
Conservative filmmaker Matt Walsh mocked Bowman's video with a sarcastic re-share on X.
ESPN radio host Peter Rosenberg posted a long-ranging thread on X, arguing that race has been a factor in Sanders' draft slide.
"Some (white) people may not understand why race is becoming a conversation around Shedeur. It may or may not have anything to do with what's going on here but the relationship between America and 'brash' Black athletes has a deep history. White America is historically angered by and scared of men like Shedeur Sanders. So whether that's what's happening here or not -- that history and feeling cannot go away," Rosenberg wrote.
Meanwhile, the TNT Sports journalist Stan Becton went so far as to suggest the New York Giants passed over Sanders for Jaxson Dart because they "don't like" Black quarterbacks.
"The Giants don't like Black QBs this has been documented over time. No way they were getting a Black QB with the personality of Shedeur Sanders unfortunately," Becton wrote.
However, Becton's post also received a community note, pointing out the fact that they have two Black quarterbacks on their roster.
Conservative influencer Robbie Starbuck dismissed the idea that Sanders was falling because of racism.
"Shedeur Sanders might end up being great and teams may regret not picking him but the idea that he hasn't been picked because of racism is just stupid. The #1 pick in the draft was a black QB. The best QB in the NFL is half black. Teams are scared off by the circus, not his race," Starbuck wrote.
The Sanders family itself has not made any such suggestions about race. Instead, they have posted bible verses and messages about thanking God.
After Sanders was selected on Saturday, the family posted a video showing a boisterous celebration in their family home.
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