Deion Sanders once again has the entire college football world talking about his Colorado Buffaloes.
The opinions range from supportive to downright below the belt commentary that many analysts across the game see as “personal attacks” sparked by jealousy toward the charismatic Hall of Famer, who stopped trying to fit into the box of what a “normal” coach is as soon as he stepped on the campus at Jackson State.
The genius of Sanders is at work again as Sanders grabbed some headlines over the weekend when he addressed the program banning Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler from asking Sanders questions at press conferences.
Five days from a nationally televised ESPN game against North Dakota State, Deion held his presser and is making sure that the cameras are on Colorado and the spotlight and pressure is on him.
Sanders described the longtime columnist Keeler’s reporting on the Buffaloes as “sustained, personal attacks on the football program” and specifically their head coach.
Stephen A. Smith even suggested that the negative reporting directed at Sanders was steeped in “racism.” Respected analysts such as Dan Orlovsky said the media attacks on Coach Prime have morphed into personal shots at his character with little focus on football.
Shannon Sharpe revealed his thoughts on ESPN’s First Take show, about Sanders and Colorado’s handling of the situation, and the way some media have covered Prime.
“He used the phrases False Prophet, Deposition Deion, Planet Prime, Bruce Lee of BS, Deion Kool Aid….That’s personal. If you want to talk about my program, if you want to say I’m not doing a good job of coaching, if you want to say that I don’t do a good job of discipline, my players and my players are not disciplined, and they’re not playing the game the right way, I can live with that,” Sharpe said.
“But when you start to attack me personally, nah, I’m not gonna answer your questions. I’m just gonna keep it moving on. I’ll let someone else go, and they can ask me a question that some people might deem negative, but I understand that comes along with the territory, but you attacking me personally, that don’t come along with this territory.”
Others call it more phony baloney from a guy who hasn’t proved that he can get the job done against elite teams at this level.
Paul Finebaum Rips Deion Sanders’s Handling Of Media
On ESPN’s “Get Up” Monday morning, college football analyst Paul Finebaum was on the dark side of his love-hate relationship with Deion, bashing the head coach and making it clear he is not a fan of Sanders’ latest interactions with the media.
“He did this at Jackson State,” Finebaum said. “This is a trait of Deion Sanders. He wants to have it his way and I find him to be a bully and a hypocrite. And quite frankly, as someone who has been a fan of his throughout his entire career, even at Colorado, I am mortified by his actions.”
But overall, Finebaum believes that Sanders’ behavior with the media shows a contradiction between both parties ahead of his second season in Boulder.
“Coach Prime is showing he is not ready for prime time, Greeny,” Finebaum said to host Mike Greenberg. “I find this whole thing to be disgraceful. Deion may want to talk about love and joy, and that’s been the cornerstone of what he seems to be spewing out. But treating reporters like this seems like we’re in some autocratic country. This is not America, and the fact that it’s in his contract is really even more absurd.”
The Keeler ban follows Sanders refusing to speak to a reporter from CBS in early August.
Sanders has unique language in his contract that states he’s only required to speak to “mutually agreed upon media.”
Keeler has since been banned by Colorado after using phrases like “false prophet,” “Deposition Deion,” “Planet Prime,” “Bruce Lee of B.S.,” “the Deion,” “Kool-Aid,” and “circus” in his reporting on Sanders and the Colorado program.
Sanders Refuses To Engage In Negative Media Wars
Sanders took the podium on Saturday, saying that he would not match the ignorance of the media and defending himself as a man who always leads with peace and love versus hate.
A reporter asked Coach Prime if he would also be banned from asking questions if he asked something that was critical of Colorado in the future.
Deion accused the reporter of being negative by asking that question.
“I’m not built like that,” Deion said. “I’m not built to hate. I’m not a hateful guy. I come with love. I think if anybody in here, has had encounters with me. I don’t come with the bull junk. I come with the peace.”
This is all typical Deion. Win or lose, he wants to make sure the world is watching when Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter showcase for their Heisman campaigns.
In his press conference before the season opener, Sanders praised his team and coaches and the preparation they have put in. He also understands the position that his team is in. Detractors and haters would love to see Colorado fall to an FCS powerhouse.
Between 2011 and 2021 North Dakota State won nine NCAA Division I AA FCS National Championships. The desire to beat Colorado will be immeasurable.
Sanders wasn’t backing away from the fact that everybody gets up to play his team because of the flamboyance and attention they bring without having to even contend for a national championship.
When asked about a possible letdown against a lower-level team, Deion dismissed any chance of overconfidence.
“Everybody wants to beat us and we want to beat everybody,” Deion told reporters. “They know they are on national television. They know the world is watching. We have four or five (NFL) scouts out there everyday watching practice.”
Deion is going to run things his way, whether people like it or not. While winning is very important, he also has larger institutional goals and commitments to his players achieving their dreams in life, that is also part of his definition of winning and losing.
How well this team will actually perform on the field is still a mystery to most, including their head coach.
