Before the Colorado Buffaloes 48-41 home loss against the USC Trojans, head coach Deion Sanders invited rapper DaBaby to speak to the team.
His invitation to DaBaby, whose legal name is Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, is sparking controversy due to comments made by the rapper at a 2021 concert involving HIV and AIDS.
"If you didn't show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that'll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up," he told attendees.
The comments were criticized then, including some from Elton John.
"We've been shocked to read about the HIV misinformation and homophobic statements made at a recent DaBaby show," John wrote. "This fuels stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic." He added: "HIV misinformation and homophobia have no place in the music industry. We must break down the stigma around HIV and not spread it. As musicians, it's our job to bring people together."
Several other famous musicians and personalities criticized him, including GLAAD, Madonna, and Questlove, and he lost sponsorships and festival slots.
In addition to these comments, DaBaby has been involved in other serious incidents, including dismissed gun charges that resulted in him shooting and killing someone at a North Carolina Walmart.
Deion Sanders invited DaBaby to speak to his Colorado team about handling adversity.
"Just keep going. A little adversity is healthy, it's better to run into it earlier than later."pic.twitter.com/I9THsggYMh
(h/t @ChrisScorch, @jae_davisss)
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 30, 2023
"I got somebody else who went through something," Sanders said before introducing DaBaby. "Who dealt with some issues. That had to regroup. Veered off a little bit. Got back on track ..."
DaBaby encouraged the team that's now 3-2 on the season.
"Just keep going. A little adversity is healthy, it's better to run into it earlier than later," the rapper said.
The Buffaloes dropped back-to-back games against the Oregon Ducks and the Trojans. Now, they look ahead to Week 6 on the road against Arizona State at 6:30 pm ET on October 7.
