Jason Whitlock claims Deion Sanders pretended to speak in tongues, calls it 'fake Christianity'

Outspoken Christian sports columnist and podcast host Jason Whitlock has accused University of Colorado head football coach and NFL legend Deion Sanders of practicing “fake Christianity” and pretending to speak in tongues after Colorado’s blowout win over Weber State last month.

Speaking on a recent episode of his daily show and podcast, “Fearless With Jason Whitlock,” the conservative host said Sanders’ tongues-talking episode on Sept. 12, before his postgame press conference following the 52-21 win, was akin to “playing with God.” He suggested the team’s three losses since then are a consequence.

“When you watch him do his little fake Christianity shtick as he brings every degenerate rapper into his locker room, BigXthaPlug, Da Baby — every degenerate rapper into his locker room, turns the whole rap culture that’s what he’s building at Colorado while claiming to be this devout Christian while wearing this gold chain with a cross,” Whitlock lamented.

“I’m like, people can’t see this. This is not going to end well,” Whitlock insisted. “And I don’t care. You know what? Colorado could win every game the rest of this season. And my opinion about Deion and where this thing will end up will not change. You don’t get to play with God. Not forever. And Dion’s playing with God.”

To justify his claim, Whitlock cited the press conference after the Weber State game. 

"Deion comes into the press conference and pretends to speak in tongues," Whitlock said. "Add up the scores of every game since then. They've gotten the brakes beat off of them in every game since then."

Since the win over Weber State, the Buffaloes have lost three straight games, falling to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in Big 12 play after a decisive 29-7 home loss to Texas Tech. Sanders has also faced increased pressure as his overall record since becoming the team's coach in 2023 stands at 18-24, Gameday Chatter reports.

“Allegedly, this guy’s been playing with God his whole life. You can’t promote radical materialism. You can’t do a song ‘Must Be the Money’, you can’t do that and never repent from it,” Whitlock declared.

“Never say like, ‘Hey, that was a mistake. I’m promoting the worship of money. I shouldn’t have done that even when I was younger.’ You can’t run around in church with dollar signs promoting the worship of money. You can’t raise kids that promote the worship of money and deck themselves out in gold chains everywhere, and then, [say] ‘oh, I’m a devout Christian.’ You can’t do that,” he argued.

Whitlock suggested some people aren’t criticizing Sanders’ leadership or his display of faith because they are blinded by race.

“The people that couldn’t see where this was headed, I’m [going to say] take off your race goggles because that’s what’s blinding you,” he said. “This Deion Sanders train wreck was inevitable from day one. There has not been one thing biblically sound about his leadership.”

Sanders, who said he surrendered his life to Christ after an attempted suicide in 1997, has been vocal about his faith ever since and has spoken in tongues publicly before.

A video clip from September 2023 shows Sanders segueing into tongues while delivering a prayer in English.

In 2022, Sanders, a Super Bowl winner and Pro Football Hall of Famer, told Chris Neely of “Thee Pregame Show” how he cried out to God after being hospitalized in 2021 for blood clots in his leg. He said he repeatedly prayed in tongues as he fought to recover from what he described as a life-threatening illness.

“We may smell like the smoke because we’ve been through the fire. But I wouldn’t change none of it. I needed it. I love it, I’m proud of it, and I’m thankful for it. I got to really see God’s face and the different personalities of God, I feel,” he said of the experience. “It was a blessing. Because I could have lost my life very easily.”