What Jackson State's Deion Sanders said about Eddie Robinson Jr. rejecting his postgame hug

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Jackson State football and coach Deion Sanders played spoiler and defeated Alabama State 26-12 on the Hornets' homecoming Saturday. Then Alabama State coach Eddie Robinson Jr. played spoiler to Sanders after the game.

Sanders shook hands with Robinson and tried to add a postgame hug, but Robinson rejected Sanders attempt in a moment that captured the tenor of the Southwestern Athletic Conference rivalry.

"My exact words was, 'Hey man, you had them ready to play. Good game,'" Sanders said. "Shook hands and tried to embrace and he pushed off. That was it."

Sanders wore a surprised look on his face and opened his palms after Robinson pulled away. Robinson felt Sanders was disrespectful in the media leading up to the game and pregame on the field during pregame, he said.

"I thought there was a lot of disrespect the whole week and so your not going to be disrespectful all week in the media," Robinson said. "We didn't talk in the pregame I was out there the whole time at the 50-yard-line. He walked through our huddle on our end zone, he came the long way around to get to his side during the pregame, thought that wasn't classy at all.

"Postgame I'm not going to give you the Obama bro hug, I'm going to shake your hand and go on I'm always going to be respectful and respect the game. ... I'm living on the shoulders of the SWAC, he ain't SWAC, I'm SWAC, so he's in the conference and doing a great job, can't knock that. ... You're not going to come here and disrespect me and my team and my school and then want to bro hug me, shake my hand and get the hell on."

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Sanders said he was especially "disturbed" when he overheard some of Robinson's comments before Jackson State moved into the same media room to address the press.

"If I ain't SWAC, then who is SWAC," Sanders repeated three times, more animated each time. "Baby, who is?"

"You got the 'W' great job," Robinson added. "I pray he don't get a Power 5 job and we play them next year in Jackson, and I pray they put us for their homecoming."

The two did not meet on the field before the game. Jackson State arrived later than planned to ASU Stadium because of traffic from Birmingham to Montgomery.

"It could be a plethora of things," Sanders added. "I think he thought he was going to get a win. I don't know why he would've ever thought that. ... Secondly he said that I didn't come to greet him in the center of the field. I don't know if you understand but we got here very late. So that expedited our whole process of preparation. So then we were in like, 'let's go get it (mode)."

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Jerell Rushin is a recruiting reporter for the Tuscaloosa News and the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jrushin@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @JerellRushin_.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: What Deion Sanders said about Eddie Robinson Jr. rejecting postgame hug