Deion Sanders slams NCAA’s handling of mental health issues as he’s denied eligibility for double transfer

Coach Deion Sanders commented on the NCAA's recent decision denying Colorado Buffaloes player Tyler Brown immediate playing eligibility.

An offensive lineman, Brown began his college football career in Louisiana and later transferred to Jackson State to play for Sanders.

Brown has faced a variety of mental health-related issues throughout his playing career, citing those challenges in hopes of being immediately eligible to play for Colorado — even if it was a two-way transfer.

Coach Prime didn't like the NCAA's decision to deny Brown's waiver.

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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders answers questions during a news conference after a practice session August 4, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

“It doesn't make sense,” Sanders said during a Tuesday news conference.

Sanders added that the NCAA's decision effectively sidelined Brown.

“Some things just don't make sense,” Sanders said. “You say you really care about mental health, but when you have someone who's really into mental health, there's a problem. Then excluding him and not allowing him to do what he is blessed and gifted to do and what gives him peace, It's exhausting for a young man.

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Earlier this year, the NCAA voted to limit exemptions for players making a second transfer.

Under the new guidelines, athletes will only be eligible for immediate participation on their second transfer if there is a physical or mental health reason or “urgent circumstances”.

Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders at a news conference at the UCHealth Champions Center in Boulder, Colorado August 4, 2023. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Brown posted a video describing some of the mental health struggles he has faced.

“I don't want to go to a dark place again because I don't have football,” he said in the video this week. He also mentioned that he had been taking anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications since he was young.

Brown performed well in his final season under Sanders at Jackson State and was voted a first-team All-SWAC last year. He was also named to the third-team All-American.

Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes watches his team warm up before the spring game at Folsom Field April 22, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

When Sanders decided to take the job as head coach at Boulder, Brown decided to follow him.

“It's like, ‘Wow, do you really care, or are you just saying you care?'” Sanders said of how the NCAA decides to deal with mental health issues. “Do you care when it's convenient? Or when is it profitable?”

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The waivers of North Carolina receiver Tez Walker and Florida State defense attorney Darrell Jackson Jr. were also denied.

The Buffaloes open the season Sept. 2 against TCU.