"You gotta put you first": When Coach Prime's ex-wife Pilar Sanders stood up for daughter Shelomi Sanders after her decision to leave Colorado

Shelomi Sanders was crossed about the decision to hit the transfer portal earlier this year. The guard initially played at Jackson State, where her father, Deion Sanders, was the football coach. She subsequently followed him down to Colorado after he was hired as the coach there.

However, Shelomi Sanders wasn't feeling fulfilled in Boulder like her brothers and needed a change of environment. She eventually decided to enter the transfer portal, sealing a move to Alabama A&M.

While the decision didn't go well with Coach Prime, Shelomi's mother, Pilar Sanders, stood up for her. In a short YouTube video, Pilar defended her daughter’s action, emphasizing that she's entitled to make the best decision for herself.

“You gotta put you first, Lucious,” Pilar Sanders said with a smile in a social media video after Shelomi's transfer announcement, alluding to a similar line in the hit TV show 'Empire.' “We’re hitting the road y’all. We love Boulder, CO and thank you. But you gotta put you first, baby. Let’s go.”

Why did Shelomi Sanders leave Colorado?

Shelomi Sanders' decision to transfer from Colorado caught many by surprise, given Deion Sanders' well-documented efforts to keep his family united within the same university. However, the guard took a bold step of stepping away from Boulder earlier this year in April.

In a live interview in August, she revealed that her time in Boulder had been particularly challenging, prompting her to seek a new, more comfortable environment to continue her basketball journey.

“For me, I would say, yeah, last year during the beginning where I just came home sad every day," Shelomi Sanders said on the livestream in August. "I was sad and mad like every day.

“I don’t want to say anything too bad. It just wasn’t good energy. It wasn’t good vibes. There wasn’t enough being poured into me as a player and young lady. If I didn’t leave when I did, I promise you I would’ve quit.”

The decision to transfer away from Boulder highlights her commitment to personal growth and finding the right fit for her development both on and off the court.

During her stints at both Jackson State and Colorado, Shelomi saw limited playing time. However, Alabama A&M has been a different story entirely for her this season. She has played in eight games for the Bulldogs and averages 5.5 minutes, while at Colorado, she suited up in five games and spent 1.5 minutes on the court.