New details emerge on Travis Hunter, Henry Blackburn meet up
One of the uglier moments on the field during the 2023 college football season added a new, conciliatory chapter off the field this week. Weeks removed from a vicious hit in a rivalry game, Colorado star Travis Hunter and Colorado State safety Henry Blackburn met and broke bread on Wednesday night, ESPN confirmed on Thursday.
Blackburn delivered a late hit to Hunter early in the game against the Buffaloes at Folsom Field on Sept. 16. The hit left Hunter with a lacerated liver, keeping him sidelined for at least two games at this point.
After a photo of the two hanging out popped up on social media, a Colorado State spokesperson confirmed the two met up and went bowling. The meet up is apparently set to be featured in a video on Hunter’s YouTube channel in the near future.
The bowling match had some money on the line between the two, with the winner donating it to charity, ESPN reported.
The meeting first came to light on Wednesday night when Colorado State defensive lineman James Mitchell’s posted a photo of the two on Instagram on Wednesday night, with the two shaking hands.
Blackburn also reposted it with a caption: “God has a bigger plan,” along with a praying emoji.
In the immediate aftermath of the play, Colorado State athletic director Joe Parker detailed harassment, including death threats, against Blackburn and his family on social media. He told ESPN’s Pete Thamel both Blackburn and his mother’s phone numbers were posted on social media, as were his campus address and his family’s address.
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When Deion Sanders was asked about the situation, he made it clear he didn’t condone the threats and asked for people to pray for Blackburn.
“Henry Blackburn. I want you guys to record this and run with this,” Sanders said. “Henry Blackburn is a good player who played a phenomenal game. He made a tremendous hit on Travis on the sideline — you can call it dirty, you can call it he was just playing the game of football — but whatever it was, it does not constitute that he should be receiving death threats.”
Sanders continued to put the situation in perspective, pointing out that Blackburn is a college athlete trying to achieve his dream of going to the NFL. He added he and Hunter both forgave Blackburn.
“This is still a young man trying to make it in life, a guy that’s trying to live his dream and hopefully graduate with honors or a degree, committed to excellence and go to the NFL,” Sanders said. “He does not deserve a death threat over a game. At the end of the day, this is a game. Someone must win, someone must lost. Everybody continues their life the next day. Very unfortunate.
“I’m saddened if there is any of our fans on the other side of those threats. I would hope and pray not, but that kid was just playing the best of his ability and he made a mistake. So I forgive him. CU, our team forgives him. Travis, he’s forgiven him. Let’s move on. But that kid does not deserve that.”