Whitlock: Does Deion Sanders realize God keeps receipts, too?

Does Deion Sanders believe in Deion Sanders?

He’s certainly not acting like a believer – in himself, the Colorado Buffaloes, or the God he proclaims when he occasionally takes a break from self-promotion.

Following Colorado’s upset of 17th-ranked Texas Christian, Prime Time behaved like an insecure 29-year-old woman trying to convince herself that streaming reality TV shows, cooking shakshuka, and getting drunk at a Beyonce concert beats marriage and kids.

Deion and the lady TikToker beefing with Matt Walsh both protest way too much.

On the heels of his 45-42 victory, Prime Time walked into his press conference crowing about the “receipts” he kept on his critics and immediately transitioned into bragging about his son, Shedeur, CU’s starting quarterback.

The self-idolatry, hubris, and LaVar Ball impersonation were just the warm-up. It didn’t take long for the first-year Colorado head coach to channel his inner Al Sharpton.

“We’re going to continuously be questioned because we do things that have never been done,” he said.

“That makes people uncomfortable. When you see a confident black man sitting up and talking his talk, walking his walk, coaching 75% African-Americans in the locker room, that’s kind of threatening.

“Oh, they don’t like that. But guess what? We’re going to consistently do what we do, because I’m here and ain’t going nowhere. And I’m about to get comfortable in a minute.”

Deion’s closing act was pure Biff Tannen from the movie “Back to the Future.” Prime Time told Ed Werder to “make like a tree and get out of here,” dismissing the veteran ESPN reporter’s question.

“What’s up, boss?” Sanders shouted.

“Do you believe now? Oh no, no, no. I read through that bull junk you wrote. I sifted through that. Oh no, come on. Do you believe? You don’t believe? You just answered it. You don’t believe. Next question.”

In March, Werder committed the crime of referring to Sanders as a celebrity coach in a single tweet.

“Colorado’s celebrity football coach has made @CUBuffsFootball the most interesting program in the country. It’s No. 2 in merchandise sales, Folsom Field suites are sold out and season-ticket renewal rate stands at 97%. @DeionSanders has created attention before his first win.”

Believers don’t take victory laps after one win. Believers know they’re on a never-ending journey. Believers demonstrate their faith by giving the glory to God and smothering themselves in humility.

This is my problem with Deion Sanders. He professes a faith in Jesus Christ (and himself) that he contradicts at every turn. Despite his athletic success, wealth, natural charm, and good looks, Sanders is insanely insecure. He camouflages his self-doubt with gold chains, bluster, and bullying.

He’s 56 and insists that people refer to him as “Prime,” a secular, materialistic character he created as a child. The lack of evolution and maturity are stunning. What’s equally shocking is how many people play along with his cosplay.

Most of the media celebrated Sanders’ postgame antics. White reporters fear being labeled racist. Black reporters fear being labeled sellouts. The ex-jocks with a platform all want to be Deion and fear jeopardizing their invitation to speak to the Colorado football team.

Deion ruined a fun, feel-good sports story. He needlessly racialized a game and demonized individuals who meant him no harm.

I’ve tried my best to support Deion. I can’t do it any more. I’ve spent the last six or seven years hoping Deion’s proclaimed Christian faith would begin manifesting itself in his public behavior. I’m the same age as Deion. I’ve been every bit as worldly, insecure, and foolish as Sanders.

You live long enough, and you begin to figure out that God’s ways are superior to man’s. Deion hasn’t surrendered to that fact yet. It’s disappointing. But he’s rarely confronted with any hard truth. He loves the lies and dopamine of social media. It’s where he hunts for recruits and develops his worldview.

Twitter has convinced Sanders that white football fans and coaches feel threatened by his skin color and ascension to head coach at a Power 5 school. It’s as if he’s unaware that he replaced a black head coach at Colorado and that black players dominate most locker rooms.

No one’s threatened, Deion. They’re annoyed. They’re the same kind of annoyed as Eddie Robinson Jr., the head coach at Alabama State, a historically black college. Last year, when Deion led Jackson State, Robinson beefed with Deion. Robinson infamously claimed that Deion “wasn’t SWAC.”

Deion’s lack of humility and loyalty and out-of-control hypocrisy are annoying. Deion says he’s coaching for the kids but mostly talks about himself. Deion says he’s coaching to uplift black coaches, but he hired white coordinators at Colorado. Deion says he’s a follower of Jesus Christ, but he completely ignores every scripture related to humility.

For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. –Luke 14:11

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. –Romans 12:3

On Monday, during an interview with Pat McAfee, Deion insinuated that TCU offensive coordinator Kendal Briles mistreated and/or ignored Shedeur Sanders when he was a high school recruit. Is Deion aware that the players he ran out of the Colorado program felt mistreated by him?

Deion’s hypocrisy runs so deep that it’s impossible to discern what he actually believes in beyond self-promotion.

His stated views and philosophy reflect the tenets of satanist Aleister Crowley’s “true will.” Each man is his own god. We should be obedient to our own understanding of ourselves and the world. It’s the thinking that undergirds the transgender movement. It’s the attitude that prioritizes feelings over fact. Sanders does so little self-reflection that he’s likely unaware that his ideology aligns with Crowley’s.

But here is Sanders a month ago launching into a speech about his approach to critics and offering advice to young people. The rant is typical Deion Sanders – half rapper, half philosopher, dressed up with a reference to God.

“Look at me,” Sanders started. “What about me would make you think that I care about your opinion of me? Your opinion of me is not the opinion that I have of myself. You ain’t make me, so you can’t break me. You didn’t build me, so you can’t kill me. You know what? God established me, so there’s nothing you can do to me. I’ve been HIM. I’ve been a difference maker, a game changer.

“Youngsters, if you’re out there right now, don’t give a darn what opinion people have of you. As long as that opinion isn’t consistent with that of yourself, you be you. I’m not playing to make you feel good about myself. I already feel good about me. I’m good.”

Sanders clearly cares what people think. Why else would he keep “receipts” on what people think?

His Colorado players will mirror his obsession with the thoughts of outsiders. Coaches beg their players to eliminate outside noise. Deion is elevating the importance of his critics, the people bothered by his hypocrisy and concerned that his hey-look-at-me coaching style will become the norm.