Deion Sanders at the center of religion controversy months before Colorado starts 2023 season

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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has yet to officially appear on the sidelines for the Buffaloes after taking the job in December, but he’s already at the center of controversy over his religion.

Sanders was known for expressing his strong belief in God when it came to his coaching style at Jackson State. When he left the Tigers for the Colorado gig, he was mocked for saying that God sent him to become the coach of Jackson State but left the job anyway.

With kickoff to the 2023 Buffaloes season just months away, Sanders is now in the middle between two religious groups. One group that wants Colorado to force him to stop preaching his religious beliefs to his players while another one warned the university that telling him to do so could infringe on his rights.

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 Deion Sanders attends SiriusXM At Super Bowl LVII on February 09, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

The Freedom from Religion Foundation sent the University of Colorado a letter on Jan. 24 about Sanders’ references to Christianity and claimed they were contacted by residents who were concerned players were potentially being pressured to pray during their team meetings. 

The letter also pointed to one prayer in question, which read "Lord, we thank You for this day, Father, for this opportunity as a group. Father, we thank You for the movement that God has put us in place to be in charge of. We thank You for each player here, each coach, each family. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen."

The group called on the university to teach Sanders about "his constitutional duties under the Establishment