BUFFALOES HC DEION SANDERS CONDEMNS DEATH THREATS AIMED AT COLORADO STATE DB HENRY BLACKBURN
Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders has condemned the death threats sent to Colorado State safety Henry Blackburn after the game between the two teams on Saturday.
Blackburn has been receiving death threats over the past few days because of his late hit on Colorado’s star wide receiver-cornerback, Travis Hunter. The hit ruled Hunter out of the game and sent him to the hospital with a lacerated liver, as first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Hunter is scheduled to be out for a few weeks and should make an appearance in late October or early November.
Blackburn wasn’t ejected on the late hit but Colorado State was handed a 15-yard penalty as the play was ruled on the field as a personal foul for unnecessary roughness. The fourth-year defensive back didn’t receive a targeting penalty for his hit however.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Coach Prime said, “Henry Blackburn is a good player who played a phenomenal game. He made a tremendous hit on Travis [Hunter] on the sideline. You can call it ‘dirty’, you can 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.”
Blackburn had his home address and both his and his mother’s cell phone number leaked on social media following the game on Saturday. According to multiple reports, Blackburn and his family have since been bombarded with death threats and constant harassment. Colorado State Police are working with local authorities to look into the threats aimed at Blackburn, now in his senior year at Colorado State.
“This is a still young man trying to make it in life,” Sanders went on. “A guy that’s trying to live his dream and hopefully graduate with honors or a degree committed to excellence and go to the NFL. He does not deserve a death threat over a game.”
Sanders then went on to say he was saddened if any of the death threats sent at Blackburn were from Colorado fans and hoped they weren’t. The 2021 Eddie Robinson Award winner said he had forgiven Blackburn and so had the rest of the Buffaloes, including Hunter. “I forgive him,” said Sanders. “Our team forgives him. Travis, he’s forgiven him. Let’s move on. That kid does not deserve that.”
Colorado State Athletic Director, Joe Parker, told ESPN regarding Blackburn’s safety going forward: “We’re very concerned about our player’s safety, as Henry and his family have continued to receive these threats. Henry never intended to put anyone in harm’s way on the football field. It’s not what we teach or coach. We hope that the irrational vitriol directed at Henry stops immediately.”
Colorado’s win against Colorado State on Saturday was the most watched college football game this season, averaging 9.3 million viewers on ESPN. The Buffaloes 43-35 double overtime win at Folsom Field was the fifth-most watched college football game in history.
The Buffaloes are on a roll and everybody close to the sport is beginning to take notice, including the players at the next level. San Francisco linebacker Fred Warner said on his The Warner House podcast that the entire 49ers team was glued to the screen on Saturday night watching the game between Colorado and Colorado State and jumped at every play “as if they were watching the Super Bowl.”
As it stands, the 3-0 Buffaloes seem unstoppable. But with tough matchups coming in the next few weeks and without key player Travis Hunter, it might be time for Colorado to come back to earth a bit. Colorado next takes on conference rivals Oregon on Saturday at 10:30pm ET, before welcoming 2022 Heisman trophy winner, Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans to Boulder on September 30th.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Michael J. Cargill. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.