Tempers flared at the end of Jackson State’s 26-12 win over Alabama State on Saturday. During the midfield handshake, Tigers head coach Deion Sanders tried to embrace Hornets head coach Eddie Robinson Jr., but the Hornets coach denied him and pushed back on the hug attempt.
The two walked out to the midfield logo when time expired, and after they shook hands, Sanders tried to pull Robinson in for a hug. However, the Alabama State coach placed his hand on Sanders’ chest and pushed back against him. The two quickly exchanged words before Robinson walked away.
In his post-game press conference, Robinson was asked about the altercation. Robinson said he felt disrespected by Sanders throughout the week and before the game, so he did not want to act like friends at midfield.
“Well, to be up front, I thought it was a lot of disrespect the whole week,” Robinson said. “So, you’re not gonna be disrespectful the whole week in the media. We didn’t talk in the pregame. I was out there the whole time at the 50-yard line. He walked through our whole huddle in our end zone. Came the long way around to get to his side of the field in the pregame. Thought that wasn’t classy at all. In the postgame, I’m not about to give you the Obama bro hug. I’m gonna shake your hand and go on. I’m always gonna be respectful and respect the game. … I’m living on the shoulders of the SWAC. He ain’t SWAC. I’m SWAC.”
Robinson also said the way Sanders handled the end of the game rubbed him the wrong way. Jackson State had the opportunity to take a knee at the end of regulation but Sanders decided to be aggressive in order to run up the score. Robinson took exception to that and had his defense respond in similar fashion.
“You can’t do all that stuff all week, then come in and put your backup quarterback in the game and run a hitch-and-go to try to put more points on the board,” Robinson said. “S— was disrespectful. Game was out of line. It was 26-12. 40 seconds left. We had no timeouts. Take a damn knee. Wanted to try to run a hitch-and-go, so we started blitzing. We’re gonna knock them out of the game too. That’s how we gotta play it. It ain’t no quarters given. You wanna do that? Don’t come and try to bro hug me like we’re friends. We ain’t friends. You didn’t shake my hand before the game. Why do you wanna shake my hand after the game? Period. That’s it.”
Though Sanders’ name being thrown out for Power Five jobs, Robinson said he hopes to get another crack at him and Jackson State next year.
“I hope he comes back next year,” Robinson said. “I pray he doesn’t get a Power Five job. We can play in Jackson, and I pray they put us for their damn homecoming.