Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders has confirmed at least twice since November that Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp would be joining his staff in Boulder, calling Sapp a “teddy bear” with a “wealth of knowledge” that will benefit his players after a 13-year career in the NFL.
But Sapp also has another history, involving violence against women, that has raised concerns in Colorado at the same time, leading to questions about his hiring there and how the university would address it after a previous scandal there led to pledges of no tolerance for domestic violence.
In 2017, Colorado’s then-head coach, athletic director and chancellor were punished after an investigation found they mishandled domestic violence allegations involving a previous assistant football coach.
The university still never confirmed Sapp’s hiring and gave this response Friday after being asked about it by USA TODAY Sports:
‘There have been no conversations about hiring Warren Sapp for an assistant coach position at the University of Colorado,’ said Steve Hurlbert, spokesman for CU Boulder.
USA TODAY Sports then asked if there were conversations about hiring Sapp for any job there.
‘Not at this time,’ Hurlbert replied.
Hurlbert also said Sanders isn’t going to comment beyond what he’s already publicly said about Sapp, which included him saying he was excited about ‘Coach Sapp’ joining his staff.
It’s not clear what job Sanders had in mind for Sapp at Colorado or if Sanders was waiting for an opening on his staff before having conversations with the university about hiring him. Sapp didn’t return a message seeking comment.
His potential hiring has led organizations that support domestic violence survivors in Colorado to express concern.
“By recruiting someone with a history of public allegations of gender-based violence, including domestic violence, they risk promoting violence rather than speaking out against it,” said a statement to USA TODAY Sports by Violence Free Colorado, the federally recognized, anti-domestic violence coalition for the state of Colorado. “They risk saying that violence is excusable if the player or coach is successful. They risk undermining the public work CU has done to speak out against domestic violence. As advocates, we know the answer is not to ignore the allegations against Mr. Sapp, but to address them head on.”
Why does Deion Sanders want to hire Warren Sapp?
Sapp, 51, is a “dear friend” of his who visited Sanders at Colorado last year and hit it off with Colorado players because of his football reputation, affable personality and experience as a dynamic defensive lineman. It’s not clear if Sanders knew about Sapp’s history off the field. He hasn’t addressed it publicly. But Sanders previously has spoken about showing grace to those who make mistakes and not letting those mistakes define their lives.
“He has so much to give, man, and I can’t wait to see him on a daily basis,” Sanders said on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ Dec. 20.
Eisen, the show’s host, didn’t mention Sapp’s history but asked Sanders, “Is he going to join your staff? Is that gonna happen? That will happen?’
“It better happen,” Sanders replied.
Sanders, who also is a Pro Football Hall of Famer, previously told Eisen that Sapp “wants to coach on this staff … and he is going to be a part of this staff.” He made similar comments on his weekly radio show in November when asked about Sapp joining him at Colorado. ‘I’m excited about Coach Sapp,’ Sanders said then.
What were the allegations against Warren Sapp?
In 2015, he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor domestic battery in Las Vegas after being accused by his girlfriend of biting her, throwing her on the floor and stepping on her head. He avoided a jail sentence by agreeing to a plea deal that included requirements that he undergo counseling.
Before that, he was fired from his job as an analyst at the NFL Network after being arrested on misdemeanor charges of assaulting and soliciting a prostitute in Phoenix that same year. He pleaded guilty in that case but also avoided jail time in a plea deal that would dismiss the charges after completing terms of the agreement.
In 2010, he was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery in Miami Beach. The victim had bruises on her neck and a swollen knee after saying Sapp threw her down and started to choke her, according to records in the case. That charge was dropped by prosecutors, who said they found inconsistencies in the woman’s statements and the evidence.
In a separate civil lawsuit in 2017, Sapp and other NFL Network employees were accused by a former NFL Network wardrobe stylist of inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment.
Sapp allegedly urinated in front of the stylist, Jami Cantor, according to her lawsuit, which stated he also gave Cantor “sex toys as Christmas gifts three years in a row,” showed her pictures of women he had relations with and “openly talked about his sex life in front” of her.
Cantor resolved the case against the NFL Network with a settlement in 2018. Sapp said in a radio interview in 2017 that there was no sexual harassment and characterized the sex toys as harmless fun.
Did Warren Sapp pay his debt to society?
He did, completing the terms of his plea deal in Las Vegas, including domestic violence counseling, 48 hours of community service and having no contact with the woman, according to court records.
He is free to find work where he can get it, but the issue is whether a higher standard applies in a high-profile coaching position at a major public university, especially one that went through a scandal over how it handled domestic violence allegations against a previous assistant football coach. University officials back then pledged to do better to raise awareness of domestic violence, not tolerate it and reform policies to prevent it.
Sapp’s history is “very concerning,” said Anne Tapp, executive director of the Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence, which provides shelter and support for domestic violence survivors in Boulder. “Of course, people do change and shouldn’t be judged by past allegations, but I would hope that questions related to Sapp’s treatment of women and his ability to serve as a positive role model for the young men he’d be coaching would (be) part of a vetting process.”
What was the previous domestic violence case at CU?
In December 2016, less than three weeks before the Buffaloes were scheduled to play in the Alamo Bowl, the former girlfriend of assistant coach Joe Tumpkin told then-Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre that Tumpkin had physically and emotionally abused her for two years. MacIntyre reported it to athletic director Rick George, who reported it to chancellor Phil DiStefano.
But an investigation later found that they violated university policy by not reporting it to the university’s Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance.
“DiStefano, George, and MacIntyre each took steps that had the effect of insulating the conduct, rather than elevating it to the appropriate campus resources so that any risk to individual or campus safety, or to University mission, posed by the allegation, or by Tumpkin, could be fairly and impartially evaluated,” the investigative report said.
Tumpkin was even allowed to coach in the Alamo Bowl and was essentially promoted to call plays in the game, nine days after a temporary restraining order was granted against him. After the allegations became public in early 2017, Tumpkin resigned. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor third-degree domestic violence assault and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
DiStefano was suspended for 10 days and pledged to donate his salary for that period to programs that support students and employees in the CU Boulder community who have been affected by domestic violence. George and MacIntyre were fined $100,000 each and donated it to organizations that support domestic violence survivors.
Violence Free Colorado invited CU and Deion Sanders to begin a “real dialogue” about the matter if it moves forward with hiring Sapp at some point.
“It would be easy for CU to ignore public allegations of abuse, to deny them or to say they are in the past and move on,” the organization said in a statement. “We urge CU, instead, to use this moment to talk openly about the long history of domestic violence in sports.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com