THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 25, 1995 TAG: 9501250576
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MIAMI LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
If he wanted to, Deion Sanders could bury himself in gold, and often it seems he does. The normal Sanders ensemble includes more gold chains than an old tree has rings, not to mention gold necklaces, gold earrings and fingers smothered in gold rings.
It's all part of the ``Neion Deion'' persona. Tuesday, he labeled it part of a calculated, powerful message he's been sending to the children of Fort Myers since he left there for Florida State six years ago.
``In my hometown when I was growing up, drug dealers were the superstars,'' he told reporters at Joe Robbie Stadium, where the San Francisco 49ers gathered for Super Bowl XXIX picture day. ``They wore all the gold. They wore the jewelry. They drove the cars.
``And that's why I did it, to get the point across that you can be successful, wear the gold, have the money, and not sell drugs. You don't have to do what they do.''
Sanders says his athletic accomplishments - he was NFL defensive player of the year this season, and Sunday he will become the first player to appear in a World Series and a Super Bowl - helped him reach the kids of Fort Myers.
``You can see it, kids are turning back to athletics,'' he said proudly. ``They are starting to look up to athletes again, not drug dealers.
``I've told them, `Every drug dealer I know is in jail, and doing 10 to 20 years.' Learn from that.''
It's a message Sanders would like to send to mainstream America. But while his flamboyant appearance helped him win in Fort Myers, he says it has cost him nationally. The white, mainstream media, he says, portrays him superficially and that has stolen his credibility.
``I won and I lost,'' he sighed.
Even on a team that features superstar receiver Jerry Rice and quarterback Steve Young, Sanders drew the largest number of reporters Tuesday. He responded by dressing more conservatively than usual.
He had the brim of his black visor pulled to the side, and cocked so that it enveloped the top of his left ear. What it didn't do - deliberately - was hide his trademark gold earring, whose brother dangled in the breeze from his right lobe.
But that was it.
``I tell people, `Don't be like me, be better than me,' '' he said when asked if he considered himself a role model. ``Take the good you see in me and incorporate it in yourself.''
Sanders has been a news item this week, in part due to his excessive lifestyle. The 49ers gave him a Ferrari to drive around town this week - and he says he is considering buying a Lamborghini a Miamian offered to sell him, reportedly for $240,000.
Extravagant, yes, he says. But it's also another message for kids who see him as an idol.
``I worked hard all year long,'' he explains, ``so I buy myself one gift per year. I figure I earned it.
``I fill out a card for myself and I write, `From: Me; To: Me,' You've got to be good to yourself.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Deion Sanders drew one of the largest crowds Tuesday during Super
Bowl XXIX media day activities at Joe Robbie Stadium.
by CNB