Victor Penney:
Interim writer Victor Penney, Sporting Life
Imagine planning for the biggest day of your life only to have it blow up in your face and turn into the most humiliating moment you ever experienced.
Some privacy would be a blessing to help you evaluate what happened, right? Well, imagine having TV cameras in your face instead, with millions of people watching around the world and even taking delight in your misfortune.
I’m not sure any of us would want to be in that position, but this is what life can be like for professional athletes.
I know, “boo-hoo,” right? These guys sign multi-million-dollar contracts and high-stakes pressure comes with the territory, but … pro-athletes are still human. This was driven home for me after watching the drama unfold with Shedeur Sanders at the NFL Draft back in April.
Some analysts had the 23-year-old quarterback listed as a bona fide, top-five pick, and it seems like Shedeur bought into the hype; he had an elaborate, custom-designed room set up for him at his home, so he could watch the draft coverage and showcase his personal marketing brand at the same time.
Everything looked “perfect” for Sanders heading into that weekend, but there was a small problem: NFL teams weren’t interested.
Shedeur fell out of the first round, which wasn’t part of his game plan, but there’s no shame in being selected on Day 2, right? Well, the second round came and went, and Sanders was still undrafted. He kept falling and falling and wasn’t picked up until the Cleveland Browns took him with the 144th overall pick in the fifth round. It was the loudest story of the NFL Draft.
Now, simply turning pro would be a dream come true for most college athletes, but keep in mind that Shedeur is not “most athletes.” He started out with plenty of media attention at Jackson State University, and his fame shot to new heights during his two seasons at the University of Colorado. For the record: Shedeur also happens to be the son of a two-time Super Bowl Champion, Hall-of-Fame cornerback “Prime Time” Deion Sanders, which means he has big shoes to fill. (The young Sanders also happens to share some of his father’s love of the spotlight.)
In terms of his collegiate career, he definitely showed promise, even while struggling against stronger opponents. Now, if you’re an NFL executive with an advanced scouting department, you’re going to notice those finer details, and when a prospect like Shedeur walks in for a pre-draft interview and comes off as arrogant and entitled, you won’t have any trouble passing on him. You could call it the “pride before the draft fall.”
If you’re an elite-level talent with a few personality “quirks,” teams will often shrug and sign you anyway, but if you’re an average-to-good player with a media circus following you, that’s a red flag. This is how it works in the world of professional sports, where people are reduced to statistics and contract sizes. It is dehumanizing because it overlooks the inherent dignity of the person, an individual made in God’s image and likeness.
I feel for Shedeur because falling to the fifth round in a draft where you were touted as a top-ranked prospect has to hurt. Ultimately, I hope the young man can make it work because he has potential and, I hate to admit this publicly … I have a soft spot for the Browns.
More importantly, I hope Sanders turns to Our Blessed Lord through these trials, because that’s what they’re meant for. God doesn’t send us adversity to destroy us – He allows it in order to sanctify us. Our humiliations can unite us to Christ’s Passion – if we let them – and they remind us of how much we depend on Jesus for strength.
Sometimes that means eating a healthy serving of humble pie, like it’s prescribed in Humility of Heart by Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo: “It may be said that humility is the most efficacious remedy for all evil and a most potent antidote to preserve the soul from that death and guilt which leads to everlasting perdition. And yet it is this virtue which we neglect most of all.”
In my humble opinion, Humility of Heart is the greatest book ever written on the subject. I’d love to send Shedeur my copy, but truth be told, I need it just as much as he does because pride is a tough opponent we all face – whether any cameras are watching or not.
