Deion Sanders bid goodbye to the gridiron as a player in 2005. That’s almost two decades back. However, he never left the limelight, or rather, the spotlight always found him. From his entry into the NCAA to many other happenings in his personal and professional life, Coach Prime has become a media magnet. He finds himself is in the thick of things more often than not, garnering attention, both positive and negative, from all quarters.
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It seems the HC of the Colorado Buffs, knew what’s in store for him in the future. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal 12 years ago, Sanders had prophetically predicted the rise in his popularity. He believed his brand image would enhance over time.
There was a negative phase in Sanders’ journey too.
He reflected on some of the personal decisions he made in his life in that interview, calling his divorce with Pilar Sanders (Biggers) and the circumstances before and after it, as ignorant. Sanders insisted that the only thing he wanted was to remain true to himself, maintaining his identity.
He has always tried to put the pieces of his life back together and do the right thing for himself. Coach Prime is satisfied with the way he dealt with the messy divorce:
“I made some great decisions, timely decisions, very cautionary decisions.”
Sanders was 45 at the time of the divorce, in 2012. He revealed that he had made the decision keeping the kids and the family in mind too. Despite a tumultuous split, with the couple bringing out their legal and verbal war onto the social media, he tried to look at the good side of his divorce, remarking how he could have lost everything during the settlement.
Deion-Pilar relationship timeline and how it all came to an end
Sanders and his second wife, Pilar, got married in 1999, just a year after his first divorce. The couple were together for 12 years when things turned ugly. Coach Prime and Pilar share three kids — Shilo, Shelomi, and Shedeur Sanders.
The couple decided to file for a divorce in 2012, with Sanders gaining the custody of the kids. Their marriage saw many negative turns, from Twitter (X) fights to police involvement. The Sanders household was in shambles back then.
The issues did not end with the divorce either. Defamation and custody cases kept the couple occupied for years.
There was a case of domestic abuse against Sanders. But no evidence was found against him. Some semblance of closure and peace came when Pilar was granted the primary custody of the two youngest kids along with extended visiting rights.
