Last week, the VH1 Digital offices received an impassioned call from one Chanita Foster ofFootball Wives. She was bursting with something she wanted to get off her chest and since we wanted to interview her anyway, we were more than happy to hear her out. Below is the result of our eventual chat. Unsurprisingly, Chanita’s thoughts on Pilar Sanders and their radio interview/argument take up a lot of space. Chanita also examines her relationship with all of the people she shares the screen with and reveals that peace with Pilar is an option. “At the end of the day I’m a Christian and I try to be the best one I can, even though people don’t get that from me yelling my big mouth,” says…
I know that you come to the fold with specific things that you want to talk about. What’s on your mind?
I think it’s very disheartening that Pilar signed up to be a part of a cast that now she is destroying. It’s not only the cast, but the integrity of the show. Being that TMZ reported that she was the only one that didn’t come to the hospital, which was true, her way to spin it was basically say, “VH1 staged that and it was playing that way.” She said that not thinking about me, not thinking about the fact that it was real, not thinking about the fact that I got $10,000 worth of hospital bills. Even if that wasn’t the case, when you signed on the dotted line you signed on to be a part of something.
There’s a YouTube clip featuring you arguing with Pilar by phone. At least she took your call, right?She didn’t take my call, they bamboozled her on the radio. I was actually in Chicago doing my own interview. The phone kept ringing and people were like, “Deion and Pilar are lying on the radio, they’re lying!” So I called into the radio station and I was like, “Enough is enough. If you’re gonna get a side, can we get every side?” They began to ask me what happened, and that’s why you heard me explaining at first, and then at one point they go, “Well let’s get Pilar on the phone.” They had Pilar and Deion on hold. So they got bamboozled. Where can you run to if you hang up the phone? You look stupid now. The part that I’m really upset about is I put my life out there. My husband put his life out there. We put our children on display. Most people aren’t willing to do that. People are very protective of their children. Dawn put herself out there by being real and saying, “We are having financial struggles, we are like the rest of America, we are trying to figure out how to pay our mortgage.” All of that is being destroyed because of one person. And I don’t think it’s fair.
I know that you all have it out with Pilar regarding the hospital stuff on the next episode. But that was filmed months ago – have you been carrying resentment all this time over her not visiting you at the hospital?
No. My problem is she keeps lying about it. Truth be told, I could care less if she did come. I hate liars, thieves and people that can’t drive. Those are my biggest pet peeves. It wasn’t that she didn’t come, she lied about it. She got on that radio interview and was like, “VH1 set that up.” Why couldn’t she just say she didn’t come? If she didn’t like me, just say, “I didn’t like you. That’s why I didn’t come.” That would make for a better argument than to make up all these different reasons like, “My husband called me so I didn’t come.”
Do you consider yourself to be confrontational?
I don’t think I’m confrontational, I think I stand strong in what I believe in. And I think I debate mine a little louder than most. Most people stand strong in what I believe in and they’re kind of quiet about it. Me on the other hand, I’m very vocal about it. I’ve never been able to work on a really “real job” ’cause I don’t do well with people who try to mask right and wrong. To me there’s no gray area — you’re either right or you’re wrong. On any day, I would’ve taken Pilar’s side if I felt like she was right about something. If she’s wrong, I would say she’s wrong. What I think people are missing is I have a big heart. That whole show where Melani’s crying, the bond that me and Dawn made, the connection that me and Amanda made because our husbands are linemen so they probably get hit the most and the hardest, the connection that me and Brittany made just as far as her not willing to drop her guard, all the way down to her working at Hooters. People are knockin’ Hooters, I worked at Hooters! What’s wrong with Hooters? It’s a job! Erin taught me how to live again. Erin doesn’t have kids so Erin parties different. However that comes off on the show, so be it, but I had a great time going out drinking and hanging out and reliving what it looked like before I actually had kids. So there’s a great cast here, there is. There are great stories here. Pilar’s making people miss it.
In Pilar’s defense, she does seem willing to participate when asked. We saw her agree to be the MC of your fashion show and follow through.
Here’s the thing: you gotta realize Pilar did TV before. Pilar knows what it takes to make a television show. I didn’t say she wasn’t trying to make a television show. I just said she was very difficult in doing so. She wasn’t able, or willing to form a relationship. What looks easy on the screen didn’t come easy off of the screen, that’s what I’m saying.
Do you appreciate her at least from a good-TV perspective?
Oh yeah, I can appreciate the unique aspect that she’s bringing the drama but can people recognize that she’s bringing the drama?
Last week’s TMZ story implied that Pilar felt like she was being ganged up on by the cast. Is this a bullying situation?No, and to use that word in that connotation for me to have children and for what we’re going through in America with everyone by being gay, transgender, fat, whatever, they’re being bullied about, I think that’s a strong word. Nobody’s bullying her, she’s bullying us. To go on talk shows and blatantly disrespect us and disrespect our families, who is bullying who? She just does it better than most, that’s all. She’s not being bullied. I think that TMZ story is funny. I’ve been trying to call them back, nobody’s calling me back. I’m like wow, so you’re not trying to call me back because what? I’m confused. She’s not being bullied. Everyone has opened their arms. She had a viewing party, we all did one together, she did one by herself. Did that make sense?
In retrospect, it was a preview for the drama that was to come.
Right. We’ve all been open. Go on Twitter. Go back through my tweets. I sent Deion Sanders a tweet: “I have extended the olive branch to your wife on more than one occasion. I’m right here.” They don’t want to make up. They don’t want talk about it.
Does that mean if Pilar wanted to drop everything, call a truce and play nice, you’d accept that?
Of course. At the end of the day I’m a Christian and I try to be the best one I can, even though people don’t get that from me yelling my big mouth. What you see on the show about Bible study and who we are and us trying to be the best people that we can be, that’s not a lie. So, let’s sit down and hash it out. That’s why we need a Season Two and we need a freakin’ reunion show! These people are sitting out there waiting to see this argument go down on national TV.
It's interesting that you could have a big blow-up fight with Dawn and remain cool with her, as if nothing happened.
She’s a professional arguer. She’s an attorney. We argue about so much. If you’re ever around us, we could be in the mall. We could start arguing about, I don’t know, anything! “This drink is better than that drink.” She’ll break it down, we’ll start Googling stuff, we’ll be looking up stuff trying to debate and fight our case because we’re natural people that want to win.
You also had an argument with Mercedes this past episode. She felt like you didn’t give her enough notice prior to booting her out of your fashion show.
I think Mercedes has a great line. I just think that they didn’t pair well together. If I could have had that conversation with her off camera, I think it would’ve went over well. I think it was the pressure of us being filmed, a little bit of pride got in the way, and she said that later. I think it would’ve played out anywhere else other than television, I don’t think it would’ve escalated to that point.
