Pilar Sanders, mother to Shilo, Shedeur, and Shelomi Sanders, shared her thoughts on Deion Sanders's remarks regarding Shelomi Sanders's move from Colorado. Shelomi Sanders announced on Thursday via a vlog on her YouTube channel that she's headed back to HBCU basketball to play for Alabama A&M under new head coach Dawn Thornton.

In an appearance on DNVR Sports, Deion Sanders expressed his displeasure with Shelomi entering the transfer portal.

“It was stupid,” he bluntly said. “You get a team before you enter the portal. That's what I would advise a kid. I know, ‘Well, it's illegal.' C'mon, man. Everybody knows somebody that knows somebody that knows somebody. You kind of want them to do something, and she has been truly advised.”

He then added that her departure from the institution doesn't mean that he's leaving Colorado.

“You've got to understand I'm a real father,” Sanders said. “Where I come from, historically, kids follow their parents. When did parents start following the kids? That doesn't work in my book. That doesn't work where I am from. I am the leader of the family. So, I've been dictating where my kids go. They're not dictating where I go. I'm happy. I'm cool. I'm sound in Boulder. I love it 100%. We're going to build a monument. You see those mountains over the stadium? I want my head on one of them.”

Pilar Sanders took to her YouTube to issue a response to Deion Sanders's comments with Shelomi present as she filmed the video.

“Shelomi was never given a fair chance to really get recruited, okay? Because when recruitment started out of high school going into college, and she was having colleges and universities starting to contact her, but the minute they did-

Shelmoi added, “Yeah, everyone already thought I was going to JSU.”

Pilar continued, “So, they thought she was going to JSU because somebody got on the media line and said, ‘Of course, where else is she going to go? She's going to come to JSU.' So, people who are in sports have a certain level of respect just because of the time that he did in the NFL and in baseball and whatever, uh, and we were told about that. Coaches told me about that, coaches told other professional athletes that we know about that, so that completely stopped Shelomi short of having the whole experience of being recruited, which I thought was very unfair.”

Shelomi Sanders committed to Jackson State during high school in April 2022 but transferred when Deion Sanders left to coach the Colorado Buffaloes. A standout prospect in high school, she received first-team All-District honors for District 10 6A in Texas at Rockwall-Heath High School in Rockwall, Texas. Sanders earned this recognition by maintaining averages of 16 points, six rebounds, and three steals per game in her senior year.

She had minimal playing time on the court during her stints at both Jackson State and Colorado. Only two games were played in the 2022-2023 season at Jackson State, while at Colorado, she participated in just five games, clocking 11 minutes of playing time.

Pilar Sanders then spoke about Shelomi's move to the Buffaloes after Deion Sanders took the head coaching job in Boulder.

“[Deion] decided to go to Colorado, and in support, the kids picked up and moved to Colorado to back him in his career. Fine, we know Shelomi didn't get recruited by Colorado, that was never a thing. So, was she considered a walk-on? Of course, she was because she went there for her dad's support. She was on the basketball team, but did she get playing time? No, they already had their recruits and lineup set from day one. Why should my daughter sit where she's not truly wanted or celebrated? Okay, you're just tolerated because we all know the real reason she went there. It's no secret. But why should she be called stupid for finally taking a stand, putting on those big girl pants, and starting to pave her own way when no one was doing it for her on that court?”

Towards the end of the video, Pilar Sanders spoke about Shelomi's transfer portal experience, saying, “Since Shelomi has taken the lead of her own life, there have been many teams that have reached out. So, thank you everyone. Thank you, thank you to all who have contacted her and the people assisting her too. She's navigating through this transition seamlessly. It's not stupid. What's ignorant are the comments being made about Shelomi. She's doing beautifully, wonderfully. Coaches want her, teams want her, and she's happy. She's experiencing what it's like to be a wanted player, something she didn't get to experience before.”