"Hated Angel Reese because she was too confident & arrogant": Michael Jordan's ex-teammate sees racial subtext in Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft fallout

Though playing with Michael Jordan is one of his claims to fame, former NBA big man Etan Thomas has reinvented himself by becoming a motivational speaker, podcaster, and writer. On Friday, Thomas posted a candid take on a young quarterback who fell in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The quarterback that Thomas opined on was none other than Shedeur Sanders, the Colorado Buffaloes star who slid out of Round 1 despite showing up on some mock drafts leading up to the proceedings. In a tweet posted after the first round came to a close, Thomas gave his two cents on the reason behind Sanders' snub:

"Like The Fab Five and Angel Reese before him, Shedeur Sanders is going to be just fine with or without 'their' support," Thomas tweeted.

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The nine-year NBA veteran, who competed in a Washington Wizards jersey alongside Jordan from 2001 to 2003, heavily hinted at a racial subtext as he elaborated on the supposedly hostile reaction to Sanders:

"The same demographic that hated the Fab Five because they were 'too cocky and brash' also hated Angel Reese because she was too 'confident and arrogant' and now are celebrating Shedeur Sanders falling out of the 1st round of the NFL Draft because he 'needed to be humbled,'" Thomas added.

Earlier in the week, the host of "The Rematch" podcast had weighed in on another issue that was supposedly racial in nature as well. On Monday, Thomas criticized how a certain "demographic" was using the murder of teenager Austin Metcalf "to push their white supremacy agenda," in the same way that they were allegedly using Caitlin Clark "as a prop."

Michael Jordan's ex-teammate Etan Thomas calls out NBA fan base for calling another team "dirty"

Aside from social issues, Thomas remains opinionated on basketball, including the current NBA playoffs. On Thursday, he called out one particular fan base that was reacting to a highly physical first-round series:

"Dear Warriors Fans: Yes there were some chippy plays, yes things got ugly, but let's be honest, you're not exactly in the position to call another team 'dirty' because of 'unnecessary plays that should never happen on the basketball court,'" Thomas tweeted.

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Things have indeed gotten extremely chippy between the Warriors and the Rockets. As the series, which is tied at 1-1, shifts to the Bay Area, fans and analysts like Thomas can expect some more physicality in Game 3.

About the author

Simoun Victor Redoblado is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over 12 years of experience writing for publications such as Collider, ALL-STAR Magazine, and Sir Charles in Charge.

Simoun has a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, Major in English and Minor in journalism. Thanks to the journalism courses that he took, Simoun understood the fundamentals of journalistic storytelling in the context of sports writing.

Passionate for the UP Fighting Maroons, Simoun is a fan of the NBA, PBA, UAAP, and FIBA.
His childhood team was the Chicago Bulls and Simoun was a longtime supporter of the Houston Rockets because his friends would say he looked like Yao Ming.

Simoun loves the systematic, tactical movement of the ball and the players, the stories behind each individual competing on the hardcourt and most of all, how basketball is a sport for life and all its struggles and lessons.

A father of two, Simoun spends his free time with his kids.

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Edited by Simoun Victor Redoblado