Deion Sanders Opens Up About 'Rock Bottom' That Led to Suicide Attempt

The lowest point in his life was when he was driving fancy cars and having threesomes.

deion sanders
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deion sanders

Deion Sanders said that the lowest point of his life was the peak of his success, noting that he thinks the darkest point in his life was when he was living the high life and regularly engaging in threesomes.

On Paula Faris' Journeys of Faith podcast, Sanders said that the glitziest moments of his life were the most painful.

"Rock bottom for me was having hundreds of suits and not covering the pain. Rock bottom for me was having hundreds of pairs of shoes but couldn't take a step in the right direction," he said. "Rock bottom for me was having 10 cars and wasn't going nowhere. Rock bottom for me was having a 14,000-square-foot house but never feeling at home."

Sanders repeatedly pointed out that he felt unable to connect with people around him. 

"Rock bottom for me was laying between two and three women at a time, but you get up unsatisfied...Laying right beside the person who said they love you, but she didn't even know you was in pain. That was rock bottom for me," he said.

Sanders said that his public persona he played during his NFL kept people from knowing him.  

"I was crying out to people. But, they couldn't hear you because they saw Prime. They saw my character. The character I created, not the character of a man. They saw the character I created -- that was Prime," he said.

The alienation led to the point that Sanders attempted suicide in 1997. He drove his car off of a cliff and fell 40 feet but survived. Sanders said that he rededicated himself to Christianity following the attempt and came out of the crisis. 

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