Deion Sanders Lights Up Atlanta

Sports History This Week

September 10, 1989. The Atlanta Falcons are excited to witness the debut of their highly-anticipated rookie, whom they took fifth overall in the NFL Draft earlier that year. He’s young, he’s flamboyant, and he has not one, but two already-famous nicknames: Neon Deion and Prime Time. This is Atlanta’s first introduction to Deion Sanders, who would become a sports and cultural icon for the city, as he’d eventually call Atlanta home for the early parts of his professional football and baseball careers. But along with the money, endorsements, and fame come scrutiny, misperceptions, and controversy, particularly when he attempts the unprecedented move of playing in an NFL and MLB game on the same day.

Today, Deion Sanders makes his professional football debut. Why did he draw so much criticism from certain media members? And what made Deion Sanders a unique figure in sports history?

Special thanks to our guests: Chris Miller, quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons from 1987-93; Mark Bradley, columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Anne Scearce, former client services manager for Nike; Jimmy Raye II, NFL coach from 1977-2013; and Sid Bream, former first baseman for the Atlanta Braves.

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