Jackson State University women’s basketball coach Tomekia Reed does not like the way Jackson, Mississippi, was portrayed in the “60 Minutes” interview featuring her former colleague, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders.” Reed chastised the program, via X, for selecting B-roll footage of an abandoned house and making that image representative of the city.
“@60Minutes y’all made Jackson, MS look horrible,” Reed posted on X. “You should be ashamed of yourselves for showing the worst house you can find in America and make it like that describes us. I’m not even sure if that abandoned house you showed is even in Jackson. #ThisisHome”
Poor Storytelling
Boulder, Colorado, Prime’s new home, is the center of the college football universe. As the new head coach of the University of Colorado, Prime has the Buffaloes at 3-0 and ranked No. 19 in the country.
Longtime television news magazine show “60 Minutes” descended on Boulder to interview Prime.
In the interview, conducted by correspondent Jon Wertheim, Boulder and Jackson were presented as sharp contrasts; all the metaphorical and literal Black and white differences
“The distance between Jackson and Boulder is a thousand miles, and immeasurably further culturally,” Wertheim said in the feature.
“Sanders went from a city that is 83 percent black to one that is one percent black. From a place with a water crisis to a kind of hipster college town where there’s a shop devoted to kites.”
It was the kind of “storytelling” in sports that is lazy and predictable. But it is so commonplace that it is universally accepted as the way to depict and push a narrative. But Reed wasn’t having it.
Sticking Up For Her Home
It’s factual to point out the demographic differences, as well as the fact that Jackson is experiencing a water crisis, and Boulder has a kite store. But it might also be worth mentioning, why there is such a stark difference.
Yes, it was a piece primarily about Prime. But he was once the head coach of an HBCU, an institution that is severely underfunded, in a city that is poor. Prime in the past said he was going to do great things for HBCUs and the communities they serve. Maybe push further on that in the interview?
Some on social media claim Reed was going after Prime, and being jealous that he moved on to a Power Five school.
“My post is not about Prime! So don’t start that,” she said. “I am proud of his move, his opportunity and I cheer for them every game. He is showing that once a HBCU coach gets a chance they can make it happen! My post is about how 60 minutes could have showed a better Jackson, MS.”
Prime was asked by Wertheim about leaving Jackson State.
“I didn’t leave quick,” Sanders said. “I left when I was supposed to leave. We finished. Most coaches get a new job, and they leave expeditiously. I finished the task.”
Another opportunity to push on what the task was that Prime believes was finished.
