Deion Sanders's Wife, Pilar, Must Stay Away From House: Judge

By Marice Richter

MCKINNEY, Texas, May 7 (Reuters) - Football star Deion Sanders gets to stay in his sprawling Dallas area mansion and his estranged wife must stay at least 500 feet away, a judge ruled on Monday.

The couple and their attorneys have been in court for the past three days while a Collin County judge heard acrimonious testimony about an altercation that occurred at the family's estate on April 23.

Deion Sanders, 44, and Pilar Sanders, 38, were both charged with family assault in the altercation. Pilar suffered minor injuries but was jailed for a night following the incident. Her arm was bandaged when she arrived for court each day.

State District Judge Ray Wheless found that there was no family violence.

Custody arrangements for the couple's three children are still pending. A hearing is scheduled for May 15.

Peter Schulte, an attorney for Pilar Sanders, said he wasn't surprised that the Hall of Famer gets to keep the house.

"It is his separate property that he had bought and paid for," Schulte said. "We feel that we had a good day in court."

About an hour-and-a-half after the verdict, Sanders began tweeting about the decision.

"God is so good!," he tweeted. "The truth was told baby! I'm doing my dance with my old Falcon(sic) uniform on with my gold jacket over it and some cleats!"

No ruling was made on a separate charge of misdemeanor criminal mischief that police in the town of Prosper are seeking against Sanders. The charge is connected to Sanders' attempt to destroy a cell phone Pilar Sanders' friend was using to record the altercation.

"Mr. Sanders admitted under oath that he broke the phone," Schulte said. It is unclear what will happen with that charge, he said.

The couple married in 1999 and starred together in an Oxygen network reality show, "Deion & Pilar: Prime Time Love."

Known by the nicknames "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion," Sanders played cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons, the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams. He also played major league baseball.

He is currently an analyst for the NFL Network. Sanders filed for divorce in December. (Reporting By Marice Richter; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Jackie Frank)

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Comments

[patsypatsy]

08:56 AM on 05/15/2012

Deion & Pilar Where is your Pastor and what was the advice he gave you? Pilar I love you and I value your family, but a wise woman would trust God and not a Judge. Deion you may be winning the battle but I promise you that you are losing the War. Our warfare is not carnal. What husband would bar his wife/mother from her home and her children? Deion with all that money you could have left temporarily and fasted & prayed and waited on God. It's time to Pray and make God look good. Wait on God. Love you guys Patsy in Florida.

[citizen of the universe]

06:55 PM on 05/10/2012

I'm always suspect in cases like these, because things aren't always what they seem. Unfortunately, we have seen this movie before when it comes to high profile figures getting divorced. First, sully their character by calling them a woman beater, a drug addict or anything that will hurt them publicly and/or professionally; Second, try to manuever them out of everything they own, while they are in jail or out on media junkets repairing damage to their reputation; Third, the custody/division of property phase. I have no doubt that Pilar is going to ask for a LARGE amount because she will argue she should be "kept to the life style to which she has become accustom" and this is what she needs to "maintain" the children. This is where she will be successful, so I would stop putting "extra" on it and concentrate on the end result.

[carnelia8]

10:02 PM on 05/09/2012

It's something weird about her.. Why hang out, period. You're divorcing, settle it, move on. I wouldn't have anything to do with him or her. Drop off the kids, keep going. All the stupid fighting back and forth. Both of them need to grow up. She looks as though she's not from this planet. Maybe he should seek full custody and an armed guard on his property.

[Free Plaxico]

12:41 PM on 05/11/2012

Obviously you just laid out the mature way to deal with this. However after going through a divorce I can tell you that it's personal that's why they are acting like this.

[NimbaCan]

05:54 PM on 05/09/2012

There goes Mr. Rogers neighborhood! I am not saying she's a gold digger but sure looks like one. With a mansion in sight, she going to fight tooth and nail,,.

[Free Plaxico]

12:42 PM on 05/11/2012

A Gold digger who has 10 years of marriage and children. I call that a woman who is about to get paid.

[NimbaCan]

01:20 PM on 05/11/2012

Get pay for what? Ask her out on a date and see...

[emperance]

03:21 PM on 05/09/2012

Deion "used" to be as pretty as she is (back in the day).
►
I remember his Arsenio Hall appearances ---- that boy was shiny, chocolate & PURRTY!
Deion used to be 'DA MAN.
►
I was sad when he left the game.
►

But, truth be told: Marriage just ain't his thang.
SORRY T.D. JAKES.

Some folks 'ya just can't fix.
Deion will still be chasing "strange" til the day he gets called home.

[elizabennett]

02:58 PM on 05/09/2012

Just sad.

[ApolloniaBliss]

01:31 PM on 05/09/2012

I don't know them personally but I am not sure if I like her character from what I've seen some far but don't judge. He has always be self-center. I remember when he left football and he also rapped at one point.

[Grayjt]

12:17 PM on 05/09/2012

Judge ruled temporary custody for Deion.

[born68]

11:38 AM on 05/09/2012

There is nothing a person can say to defend men that abuse women. Yet, there is nothing a person can say to defend women that genuinely provoke men to commit violence against them. There are a few women, mostly due to being scorned, that do their best to aggravate men to the point that their relentless verbal and emotional assault may cause even the most non violent men to "snap." I'm not saying these women want to get hurt, they just don't know when to stop pushing these guys' buttons.

[elizabennett]

02:57 PM on 05/09/2012

And then there are women who provoke a beating when they know the beating is coming anyway. It's called the cycle of violence, and such women are truly ill. Just making a point. I don't know anything about these two, and I make no assumptions about abuse within their marriage.

[Addonis]

10:04 AM on 05/09/2012

Is it me, or do couples who get involved in opening their lives to reality TV show nearly ALWAYS end in a real mess. You can count the success on one hand, and but need an abacus to count the failures.

[Addonis]

09:59 AM on 05/09/2012

Derek Jeter was one smart son of a gun. Now, that's a true happy player... and he kept all his money and his options open. Marry as late as possible, if at all.

[msoverall]

11:41 AM on 05/09/2012

Thank you! No wife and no baby-mama's. He was very smart. I dont' think he'll get married, you can do whatever and whoever you want and you don't have to worry about embarrassing scandals because you aren't really committed to anyone but yourself.

[emperance]

03:03 PM on 05/09/2012

Helloooh!
And your last sentence, especially on-point.


("...you aren't really committed to anyone but yourself.")
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Tell 'da truth!

[SLM89]

08:53 AM on 05/09/2012

Another reason why I don't have Twitter or FB. Why do people tell their very personal business on these sites? I'm glad he got the house, but he shouldn't be talking about it to anyone but close friends, and certainly not posting it on Twitter.

[emperance]

03:05 PM on 05/09/2012

He wants his "so-called" fans to know the truth.

I saw him (call-in) live on TMZ Live & he's very concerned about inaccurate reporting.
He even called out Big Harv (lol).

[brensgrrl]

09:22 PM on 05/09/2012

The Truth????? I don't believe that the Truth will ever really be known. Whomever has the most money can buy "Truth."

[tccat4]

08:21 AM on 05/09/2012

Glad Deion go the house and the kids.. I don't know why she wanted to stay in the house, it wasn't fair to the children it made the home a hostile environment.

[krallfan]

10:58 PM on 05/08/2012

Everybody involved should be embarrassed....but people aren't embarrassed by making a fool of themselves these days. The footage will probably be shown on some reality TV show at some point.

This is no time for Deion to gloat considering he has children with Pilar. What an a#$hat.

[Latoya F]

09:39 PM on 05/08/2012

There is nothing fair and just about guys getting away with being multiple abusers, violent, terrible husbands and fathers! www.saynotoviolence.org against women and youth.

[forwardev3r]

11:37 PM on 05/08/2012

Every abuser doesn't get away whether it's the man doing the abusing or the woman. How do you figure they are getting away? We never get the full details of everything that goes on. Abuse of any kind should be condemned on all levels.

[brensgrrl]

09:23 PM on 05/09/2012

Looks like an abuser has bought his way out of something here. . .