Having Raised 6 Kids, Shaquille O’Neal Seemingly Relates to Recent Victor Deion Sanders’ Parenting Tactics

What Deion Sanders has done to Colorado football is revolutionary. He’s earned the praise of athletic stars across the board. One person who couldn’t miss out on the ‘Prime Time’ bandwagon is Shaquille O’Neal. The NBA legend has been hyping Coach Prime, and the Colorado Buffaloes every step of the way. Though playing on different ball pitches, they have a lot in common. Particularly, both are retired pros raising future athletic stars.

Both Sanders and O’Neal have had a role in shaping their kids as athletes. The two-time Super Bowl champion shared how he balances being a coach and dad to his kids. Shaq probably related to it which prompted him to share the Coach Prime philosophy with his followers.

Shaquille O’Neal gets behind the Coach Prime parenting hack

When Deion Sanders took charge of the Colorado Buffaloes football team, his scouting decisions came under intense scrutiny. However, he and the Buffs are proving all their naysayers wrong, led by quarterback, Shedeur Sanders. The 21-year-old was initially enrolled in Florida Atlantic before transferring to Colorado to play under his father. Situations like this get tricky when a player or coach could be accused of favoritism or going easy on the player. But Deion and Shedeur have struck a balance.

Deion Sanders spoke about how he draws the line between being Shedeur’s dad and coach. For starters, Deion Sr. has been a coach to his kids for years and he’s established a system that works for them. “When we go down from the 40 to the goal line, I’m the dad. I’m making sure he’s straight, how’s he feeling and all that, I’m the father.”

He goes on to explain the other side of the coin. “When we touch that goal line and come back, I’m the coach. Now this is what I want, protect the football, see it…” These are the kind of instructions Shedeur receives when they’re in player-coach mode.

Someone who found Coach Prime’s method praiseworthy is Shaquille O’Neal. ‘Big Diesel’ shared a clip of Sanders expressing this philosophy on his Instagram Stories. More people have noticed it since then and are in awe of the Sanders dynamic.

Shaq could relate to the former NFL pro more than anyone. While he’s no professional coach, most of his children are following in his footsteps. Shareef, Shaqir, and Me’Arah have been attracting attention for their basketball skills since they were teens. Myles O’Neal, is a musician just like him.

The O’Neal and Sanders kids are memorable

One thing is for sure, Shaquille and Deion’s children are not going to be remembered just for their famous parents. Shedeur’s eldest brother, Deion Sanders Jr. was a football star in college himself and entrepreneur now. Meanwhile, Shilo Sanders is also emerging as the top prospect for the pros.

Shaquille’s son, Shareef O’Neal, is in the NBA G-League while Shaqir is playing college basketball with the Texas Southern Tigers. Amirah is playing at her dad’s alma mater, LSU, and Me’Arah is on college tours to decide her next team. Shareef has even made his intentions known that he doesn’t want to be known as “Shaq’s son.”

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That’s also what Coach Sanders wants for Shedeur and his kids. “Let ’em know, I want them to know our last name before we walk of this darn field,” he always ends his speech with Shedeur. “Who are you? He said, ‘I’m a Sanders.'” Definitely better to be known by that last name instead of just ‘Shaq’s kid’ or ‘Deion’s kid.’

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