On Saturday, Jackson State University entered the Celebration Bowl with a bid for its first-ever undefeated season on the line against North Carolina Central. The highly anticipated HBCU showdown in Atlanta, Georgia, between the Southwestern Athletic Conference champions and the co-champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference lived up to the billing. Led by Coach Prime and his son, a star quarterback named Shedeur Sanders, the JSU Tigers trailed near the end of the overtime period (34-41)) as the team reached the goal line of the Eagles. On third and goal, the Tigers had a chance to tie the game when Shedeur lobbed a pass to Hayden Hagler in the endzone, hitting the tight end right in the hands. But the ball was dropped, and the Tigers went on to lose what would be Deion Sander's final game at the helm before officially moving on to Colorada State to take over as their new head coach.
The sentiment of losing Coach Prime's final game, combined with the disappointment of letting a perfect season slip away, did not sit well with JSU Tiger fans, some of whom heaped much of the blame on Hayden Hagler, a young man of Caucasian descent.
After the game, locker room footage of the sophomore crying while being consoled by Coach Prime went viral.
"That’s not on you," Coach Prime said as he gently placed his hand on his player. "It’s on us."
In the days that followed, the number of death threats that Hagler received became so staggering and serious that it prompted a showing of support for him by E. Dewey Smith, a well-known pastor from the House of Hope in Georgia and Coach Prime, who hopped on Instagram to plead with the public to stop blaming his player for a team loss. He also encouraged them to show Hagler love and apathy as human beings.
Scroll up to view Coach Prime's heartfelt message in support of Hayden Hagler.
Source: Instagram
