Coach Prime is back . . .
Back in the CU locker room, back on the Buffs’ practice field, and—characteristically—back in front of the cameras and in the headlines.
But there was nothing same-o same-o about what he had to say at the press conference marking his return to Boulder after a summer away from campus filled with mystery and speculation.
“Colorado’s Deion Sanders says he battled, beat bladder cancer,” read one headline typical of the prevailing storyline.
“This was not an easy task,” Coach Prime told a packed Touchdown Club at the Dal Ward Center as he revealed that he had undergone surgery to remove his bladder and that a part of his small intestine was used to fashion some semblance of a replacement.
The bladder tumor was discovered, he said, during a routine vascular exam related to his history of blood clots in his legs, which required surgery in 2023.
There had been no shortage of conjecture during Coach Prime’s extended absence from the CU football scene. CU’s explanation that Sanders was “dealing with a medical condition” morphed into everything from suggestions that he might have had more toes amputated, to another bout with blood clots, to “he’s headed for a Big Ten or SEC job.”
No report even hinted at the real “medical condition.” No one spoke “off the record” or otherwise about the dreaded “C” word.
And I find that absolutely remarkable in today’s leak-driven media climate.
We have unquestionably the biggest name in local college football (and arguably the biggest nationally), yet no one at any level broke the story of Neon Deion’s life-threatening health crisis! It would have been a scoop of historic proportion.
How could such a celebrity, one whose very nicknames are a reflection of his media profile, escape the intense scrutiny and omnipresent attention of social media, podcasters, saturation cable, print reporters, internet sleuths and bloggers at both local and national levels?
I asked an oncologist friend for his take, and after some discussion we concluded that HIPAA had to have something to do with keeping this would-be blockbuster under wraps. Probably a big “something.”
HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It’s a federal law whose primary purpose is to protect the confidentiality of a person’s sensitive health information and prohibit its dissemination to any other party without the subject’s expressed approval.
In this case, though, I think the absence of even a well-founded rumor also shows Prime’s self-discipline when it comes to hype, showmanship, self-promotion and whatever else you can think of to describe his unique ability to be larger than life.
He didn’t even share the gravity of his secret with most of his family, including sons Shedeur and Shilo and the player he treats like another son, Heisman Trophy-winning Travis Hunter, so that, he explained, they wouldn’t be distracted as they prepared for the pro football draft.
Current CU players weren’t told of his diagnosis or subsequent surgery until the night before the press conference at which he told the public. (Their first game is just three weeks away, vs. Georgia Tech.)
He also didn’t tell most of his closest friends, and, he said, even changed his cellphone number a couple of times, in case anyone was tracking it for telltale calling patterns.
It’s also an indication of the loyalty Coach Prime inspires in those close to him.
Eldest son Deion Jr., one of the few who knew, documented his dad’s activities away from CU in a social media video but never referred to anything that suggested in any way what really was unfolding.
Colorado athletics director Rick George, the man who brought Sanders to Boulder and another of the few who knew, remained mum, too.
While delivering a serious message at his press conference, Coach Prime also flashed his primetime panache, as if to reassure everyone it was really Coach Prime speaking. He told everyone he “depends on Depends,” the adult diapers, and that there will be a porta potty on the sidelines this fall.
He also said he hoped that, by going public, he would move others to be examined for all types of cancer, and that his jokes about the effects of his surgery would lead others with bladder cancer to avoid feeling embarrassed in the aftermath.
And with that, Prime managed to break his own story—on his terms.
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Denny Dressman’s 17th book, a collaboration with Kansas City artist Anthony High titled Black Baseball’s Heyday – Capturing An Era in Art and Words, will be published in late summer. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.