David Bakhtiari, the former Packers offensive tackle, has never been shy about voicing his opinions.
This time around, Bakhtiari is chiming in on a controversial issue involving his alma mater, the University of Colorado.
Of course, I’m referring to Colorado’s decision to retire Shedeur Sanders’ No. 2 jersey alongside Travis Hunter’s No. 12 ahead of this weekend’s spring game.
While some fans celebrated the honor, Bakhtiari and many others were quick to raise concerns about the historical context surrounding the decision, particularly the omissions of some key figures in the school’s football history.
“Yall trying to be slick thinking you can just sneak that one in there,” Bakhtiari posted on X.
The former All-Pro lineman took issue with the lack of recognition for Deon Figures, a former Buffs star and one of the greatest defensive backs in college football history.
In a follow-up post, Bakhtiari made his case: “1990 national champion, Jim Thorpe Award, Jack Tatum Award, Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year, Consensus All-American, first-round pick, six years in the NFL, College Football Hall of Fame.”
For Bakhtiari, these are not just impressive statistics – they represent a legacy that he believes should have been acknowledged long before Sanders’ No. 2 jersey was retired.
Hunter and Sanders were both tremendous players for the Buffs – and Hunter’s Heisman-winning 2024 season will always be remembered for how he dominated on both sides of the ball.
Most people don’t have a problem with Hunter being honored. The issues lies with Sanders, who finished his Colorado career with a mediocre 13-11 record and no bowl wins.
Right or wrong, most fans feel that Sanders is only having his number retired because of his father, Deion.
Coach Prime and the university have every right to retire whatever numbers they’d like. But the main problem is that Sanders is being honored before so many others great players who have accomplished even more on the field.
FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt is one of the best college football analysts on the planet. However, even he can’t deny that he can be a little biased towards his beloved Colorado Buffaloes.
That’s why it came as a mild surprise that even he criticized the decision to retire Sanders’ number.
“I think it cheapens what you are trying to do,” Klatt said on FS1’s First Things First. “The only people on the outside who are going to agree on is Travis because he won the Heisman.
“With Shedeur, from the outside looking in, it is too easy to say, ‘Would this happen if he had a different name on his back?’ That [discourse] becomes a disservice to Shedeur.”
What are your thoughts on Colorado’s controversial decision?
Again, it’s hard to have a problem with Hunter’s number being retired since he did win the Heisman Trophy … But would Sanders’ number be retired if he wasn’t Deion’s son???
