Deion Sanders' Daughter Joins Bikini Basketball League, Says Dad Was Fine With Decision Once He Saw Uniforms

Deion Sanders and Wayne Gretzky may want to become friends after this one.

Sanders has joined the ranks of famous sports dads whose daughters have also entered the public eye, and not necessarily in the best of ways. While Gretzky’s daughter, Paulina, has gained Internet fame through her Instagram feed, Deiondra Sanders (yes, a nice rendition of her father’s name) is getting attention for a somewhat sports-related endeavor.

Deiondra is joining the Bikini Basketball Association, and at first, her dad wasn’t too thrilled, she told the Fan 590 in Toronto.

“My dad was kind of upset, but that’s like any parent who just sees bikini league,” she said. “He thought I was gonna be out there in a bikini. He [saw] a picture of our uniform and stuff like that, so I think once he saw that we’re actually covered up a little bit, he wasn’t as concerned.”

Deiondra has some experience playing basketball, and she says she’s been practicing up, as she expects the league to be competitive.

“It’s a lot different because we actually do have players, real basketball players, that actually have played in the WNBA before,” she said. “So I think that this will make a difference, because people are really gonna see real-life hoopers. They just look good while doing it. … When you hear bikini league, you don’t think of people who can really play. All honesty, you just think of cute girls out there playing basketball. When I actually went to practice and stuff, as I said before, it’s girls who played overseas, that’s played four years of college ball at Georgia Tech. So I was kind of like, ‘Wow.’ That kind of scared me for a little bit.”

Deiondra said she hopes the league will give her an opportunity to have “a positive voice” and to change some negative public perceptions she’s created. And, like her father, she was happy to hear that the Bikini Basketball League was a little classier than it initially sounded.

“At first I was a little discouraged” about what she thought the players had to wear, she said. “We’re not running down the court in bikinis, which I know many of you wish we was. So once I found that out I wasn’t discouraged at all.”

Sounds like a noble cause, and at least it keeps the family together.