Richard Sherman Applauds Deion Sanders After Defending Colorado State Rams Safety Henry Blackburn

On Saturday, Colorado State Rams safety Henry Blackburn received a 15-yard  unnecessary roughness penalty for hitting Buffaloes player Travis Hunter, University of Colorado athlete. Hunter was hospitalized after the play, and now, Blackburn is receiving death threats.

However, on Tuesday, University of Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders condemned the death threats reportedly made towards Blackburn.

“Henry Blackburn is a good player who played a phenomenal game," Sanders said. "He made a tremendous hit on Travis on the sideline. You could call it dirty, you could call it, ‘He was just playing the game of football,’ but whatever it was, it does not constitute that he should be receiving death threats.”

To prove his point even further, Sanders refers to Blackburn as "a kid" and that exposure to this type of language at such a young age is dangerous and unnecessary.

“Let’s pray for that kid," Sanders said. "That is absurd for people to be threatening him. I don’t mind getting death threats. I get them every week, but a kid, it’s not good.” 

While many fans are shocked by Sanders' response, former Stanford and NFL star Richard Sherman applauded Sanders' maturity as a person on a recent episode of Undisputed.

"He understands his platform, his influence, his audience and how this will be received," Sherman said. "He's doing a fantastic job of being a good human and showing what a good human should look like in terms of having empathy and compassion for the next person regardless of the situation."

Both Hunter, who was released from the hospital on Monday, and the rest of the University of Colorado roster are not holding a grudge against Blackburn, Sanders said.

“It’s football at the end of the day. Stuff like that (the late hit) is going to happen,” Hunter said during a livestream on Monday. “He (Blackburn) did what he was supposed to do. It’s football. Something bad is going to happen on the field sooner or later. You just got to get up and fight again. That’s what I try to do.”