"Pop is Prime": Carmelo Anthony gives high praise as Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders get jerseys retired before NFL dreams

Carmelo Anthony was the latest big name supporting the Colorado Buffaloes' decision to retire Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders' jersey. The team announced last weekend that it will retire their jerseys on Saturday, leading to a division in the sports world.

Addressing the controversy, Anthony said that he was siding with the Buffaloes' decision. Calling Hunter and Sanders "culture shifters," he said that the players had an impact on Colorado football and deserved to have their jerseys retired.

"I will f*** with it," Carmelo Anthony said. "Culture shifters, that's what we talking about. They changed the game. Pop is Prime, they know how to put on and put a show on. They learned it from the best. Ain't no one talking about Colorado football, Prime turned that sh** around.

"A lot of times, we wait too long to give people flowers. It's college, if they had that impact, then put that s*** up there."

There has been pushback from the college football world alleging that it was too soon to retire Hunter's jersey, and Sanders' at all. Coach Deion Sanders also expressed his disappointment at the allegations that he spearheaded the college's decision to retire his son's jersey.

Carmelo Anthony on how Deion Sanders inspired him to personally train his son

Deion Sanders is famous for his dedication as a father. The NFL legend took the offensive coordinator job at Trinity Christian High School in 2017 and worked with Shedeur for three years.

Sanders' direct involvement in his son's football career served as an inspiration for Carmelo Anthony. Witnessing Coach Prime's dedication, the NBA great took the first step toward training his son, Kiyan Anthony, personally.

Anthony got honest about his decision in an episode of "7PM in Brooklyn" in November.

"I don’t think [Sanders] gets enough credit for what he did in high school," he said. "The grind of him going back after an illustrious career and all of that, to go lock in. For me, that was like, 'Oh, s**t," like, I’m gonna coach my kid. I gotta go really train my kid and develop my kid.

"He went back and set up shop, and really showed that I’m committed to the development and change in not just my kid but football ... That is special, like, that’s the story right there."

In November, Kiyan Anthony committed to Syracuse, his father's alma mater, for his collegiate basketball.