Damian Lillard Agrees With Deion Sanders: Fatherhood Doesn’t End After Divorce

The head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes football team set the record straight on fatherhood with a bold declaration. Deion Sanders asserted that broken marriages shouldn’t prevent men from being responsible for their children. His statement was a shot in the arm for Damian Lillard, who promptly supported this perspective.

Coach Prime’s comments initially surfaced from his latest appearance on Outta Pocket. Sanders discussed how the drive for perfectionism among African-American parents often adversely affected their children. The 57-year-old argued that parents should instead focus on being present in their children’s lives.

Sanders substantiated his thoughts by recalling his early coaching years in Texas in the 2010s. He revealed that he reached out to single fathers of his youth league players and encouraged them to attend their sons’ games.

“When I coached at youth league in Texas, I used to call the fathers with broken relationships and broken marriages and say, ‘Look dawg, I don’t need you to come to practice. Just come to the game, dawg. I just need you to sit over there and when your shawty look at you, just tilt your head’. That’s affirmation.”

The 2x Super Bowl champion further referenced LaVar Ball to explain his viewpoint. He spoke about how the 56-year-old became a public enemy for extensively promoting his children over the past decade. Although this approach hurt Ball’s public image, his bold statements were key in helping his sons, Lonzo and LaMelo, become NBA players.

Sanders then discussed how LeBron James used a similar strategy and worked behind the scenes to pave the way to the NBA for his eldest son, Bronny.

Coach Prime declared that he never let his two divorces hinder his commitment to his five children. The Florida-born even admitted to shaping his entire career around this dedication.

“I’m a divorced father, but I didn’t stop fathering. No matter what life presents you, don’t stop doing what you have been called to do. I built my life around my kids. The moves I made was based on my babies, not me. It was based on what was good for them. Ain’t no baby daddy. I’m a father.”

The hard truth struck a chord with Lillard. He consequently shared a snippet of Sanders’ statement from his Instagram story to endorse this mindset.

Dame clearly related to these words because of his own circumstances. He separated from his college sweetheart and wife of two years, Kay’La, in the summer of 2023. Just days after his major move to the Milwaukee Bucks, the 34-year-old filed for divorce.

This took a toll on his performance. Lillard struggled to find his rhythm earlier in the season. His scoring average drastically dropped by nearly 8 points. He later admitted to Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill that the tumultuous summer majorly impacted his decline.

“[I did] stuff that wouldn’t make me feel overwhelmed. It can be because we all got feelings. We all have stuff we really care about, near and dear to our heart. I’m happy I’m a stable person, I got solid people around me. It’s probably been the hardest transition in my life, all things considered.”

Despite these challenges, Lillard remains committed to his three children. He frequently visits them in Portland, Oregon.