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PDF versionFORT WORTH, Texas -- Former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders didn't care about the criticism when he was in the NFL.
And he doesn't care now.
He just does what he does.
Sanders has been offering advice and trying to impact the lives of people who are less fortunate or don't have his experience since his playing days.
And he has no plans of stopping now.
He has no regrets about the negative attention he has received the past six months because of his relationships with San Francisco 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree and former Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant. Crabtree held out of training camp and missed the first five games of the season in a contract dispute, which critics have blamed partly on his relationship with Sanders. Bryant was suspended by the NCAA this season for lying about having dinner at Sanders' house.
Sanders admits to no wrongdoing and said he can sleep well at night because people don't understand the big picture.
What he was doing with Crabtree and Bryant is no different than the recent connection he has made with Fort Worth Dunbar receiver Darius White, who has called him for advice in the recruiting process. White is considered by many to be the top receiver in the country and is considering Texas, Oklahoma and USC, among others, for college.
And it's no different than what he was doing during the holiday weekend at his Deion Sanders Prime Time Association Thanksgiving Football Classic at Everman High School, starting at 8 a.m. and featuring games among teams ages 5 and up.
"Working with kids is what I do," Sanders said. "People don't understand that. People think someone must have motives when they are in my position. This is a ministry for me. This is part of life for me. This is something I have always done. This is who I am."
Sanders puts his time in with the youth football league, not just his name. He enlisted the help of former Cowboys teammates George Hegamin, Omar Stoutmire and Kevin Mathis to serve as coaches for his Truth football organization. They have flag football teams for ages 5-6 and tackle football teams for ages 7-10.
The tournament is sponsored by Under Armour, and all the kids were to get free cleats.
"We are going to do what we do," Sanders said. "My kids range from all ethnicities. We have kids from the inner city of Dallas and (kids from) Highland Park.
"It's only reported about the high-profile kids. It's a lot of guys without that namesake that are valuable as well. People don't understand what we are trying to do with these kids. You have to make As and Bs to even play for us. We attend schools to make sure teachers get to know us. And it's not just about football; it's about life. We are trying to raise CEOs not just All-Pros."
Sanders acknowledges that he is disappointed that he has received so much negative criticism about his relationships with Crabtree and Bryant. He said he counsels far more players than those two.
He said he has no regrets about the Bryant situation because he said he didn't do anything wrong. Sanders was honest with NCAA investigators about Bryant's visit to his house. It wasn't a violation, but Bryant was suspended by the NCAA for the rest of the season because he lied to investigators about it.
Bryant has since decided to declare for the NFL Draft.
"I didn't do anything wrong," Sanders said. "I can't say I would do anything different. I'm OK with getting blamed for being honest. Anybody that knows me knows I don't need to profit off a kid. I don't need it. Most people don't know these kids' backgrounds and why I'm trying to help them. They don't know me. They don't know who I am or what I'm about. This is normal for me."
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