Temperance erupted at the end of Jackson State Won 26-12 State of Alabama on Saturday. During the midfield handshake, Tigers head coach Deion Sanders tried to hug Hornets head coach Eddie Robinson Jr., but the Hornets coach refused and pushed him back in an attempted hug.
The two walked out to the midfield logo after timeout, and after they shook hands, Saunders tried to hug Robinson. However, the Alabama State coach put his hand on Sanders’ chest and pushed against him. The two quickly exchanged words before Robinson left.
In his post-game press conference, Robinson was asked about the altercation. Robinson said he felt insulted by Sanders all week and before the game, so he didn’t want to act like friends at midfield.
“Well, to be up front, I thought that was disrespectful all week,” Robinson said. “So, you’re not going to be disrespectful in the media all week. We didn’t talk in the pregame. I was at the 50-yard line the whole time. He walked through our entire field in our end zone. . . I came all the way to his side of the field in the pregame. I thought it was nothing short of awesome. In the postgame, I’m not going to give you an Obama brother hug. I’m going to shake you. Take it by the hand. I’m always going to respect the game with respect. … I live on the shoulders of SWAC. He’s not SWAC. I’m SWAC.”
Robinson also said Sanders’ handling of the end of the game rubbed him the wrong way. Jackson State had a chance to take a knee at the end of regulation, but Sanders decided to stay aggressive to keep the score up. Robinson took exception to that, and his defense responded in similar fashion.
“You can’t do everything all week and then come in and put your backup quarterback in the game and try to put more points on the board,” Robinson said. “S— was disrespectful. The game didn’t come. It was still 26-12. 40 seconds left. We didn’t have any timeouts. Take a knee. We wanted to try to run a fumble, so we started to explode. .We’re going to put them out of the game. That’s how we have to play.” .gives no quarters to that. Do you want to do that? Don’t come over and try to hug me like friends. We’re not friends. You didn’t shake my hand before the game. Why do you want to shake my hand after the game? Period. That’s all.”
Although Sanders’ name has been thrown around for Power Five jobs, Robinson said he’ll get another crack at Jackson State next year.
“I’m sure he’ll be back next year,” Robinson said. “I’m praying he doesn’t get a Power Five job. I’m praying we can play in Jackson and they’ll make us come home.
