OTTAWA -- Deion Sanders says he had memories of Monica Seles being stabbed when a fan ran out of the stands towards him in the ninth inning of a triple-A baseball game Wednesday night.
“You don't know the motives of the people,” said Sanders, who started to move away from the path of the fan as soon as he realized he was heading towards him. “People may be upset and angry. Seles had no idea what was going to happen and I was wasn't going to allow that to happen to me.”
The fan was intercepted by Syracuse SkyChiefs third baseman Cole Liniak, who slammed the intruder to the ground before he could get to his teammate.
While Sanders, a former all-pro NFL cornerback who is trying to revive his baseball career with the SkyChiefs, understands his celebrity status and its responsibilities, he didn't repent for refusing to talk to the largest media contingent in Lynx history Wednesday.
He said answering the same questions and being followed everywhere has become monotonous.
“I understand the Bible says I have to give back and I accept that,” he said Thursday. “But you have to understand that I'm also a person. Some days I have to draw a line and I didn't feel like talking.”
Although Sanders remains on the roster of the NFL's Washington Redskins, he refused to discuss his football future.
“I focus on one thing,” he said. “That's baseball right now.”
Sanders was released July 17 by the Cincinnati Reds after hitting only .173 in 29 games and was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays to a minor-league contract July 20. He was hitless Thursday afternoon in a 2-1 win over the Lynx and his IL batting average is now .355.
Sanders, who has become intensely religious in recent years, said he has no timetable to return to the big leagues and he's content to be playing with the SkyChiefs.
“I've learned as a man of God to be pleased and content with my situation,” he said. “I'm here because of Jesus Christ my Lord and saviour. Why else would I be here?”
Despite his professed deep faith, there's still swagger to Sanders. His confidence still borders on cockiness.
He's 33 now and said he's financially secure for life and has nothing more to prove but maintains he still can make a difference on a team.
“I don't the sweat the small stuff,” he says. “I'm far too blessed to be stressed. I don't care what people think and it doesn't matter what the media thinks. It's what I think and what God thinks.
“People have been talking about me all my life.”
Disgruntled pitcher John Frascatore, who dumped on the Blue Jays after being suspended for a week, gave up one hit in one inning for the SkyChiefs before the season's second-largest crowd at JetForm Park -- 5,663.