Ex-Colorado Buffaloes Player Not Happy About Retired Numbers

Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter had their uniform numbers retired by the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday afternoon. Sanders' #2 and Hunter's #12 were officially and permanently added to Folsom Field in an on-field ceremony.

The controversial decision to retire both players' numbers has received mixed reactions from observers inside and outside the program. And one former player in particular has now spoken out about the Colorado program's perceived lack of respect for prior stars.

Chad Brown, a star linebacker with the Buffaloes in the early-1990's who won a National Championship in 1990, and made First Team All-Big 8 in 1992, told TMZ Sports that he wasn't thrilled with Deion Sanders' decision.

"Everything's black or white — either I am a jealous, old hater who needs to cry in my old man tears, or I'm exactly right in ‘I can’t believe Coach Prime would do this,'" Brown said.

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Brown wasn't done there, saying it feels like a "slight."

"While Travis certainly deserves his flowers and deserves to have his number retired, to forget the greatest era in college football at CU, which I was a part of when we won a national championship, it also feels like a slight," Brown said. "So, two things can be true at once. These guys deserve their flowers, but guys in the past also deserve those.

"I'm not saying they don't deserve it. I'm saying there's lots of other deserving players who probably should come first."

Brown also explained that there are plenty of other CU players who agree with his assessment. As well as being frustrated with the lack of obvious process.

"If we were a program which handed these things out all the time, I think myself and a lot of other former alumni would look at this through a very, very different lens," Brown said. "But considering how incredibly conservative we have been, and now to do it to two guys who are both on campus still — their graduating class hasn't even left campus yet — it feels a bit odd, a bit premature. And to not have some kind of waiting period, to not do any type of procedure, established norms with this, it just strikes a lot of folks as very, very odd."

It seems like a near certainty that this would never have happened if not for Shedeur's last name. Hunter at least won the Heisman Trophy, an accomplishment that almost universally leads to having your number retired. For example, Caleb Williams won the Heisman at USC, and didn't have his number retired until after he'd left for the NFL. CU could have done something similar. It didn't. And we all pretty much know why.

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