Sports
Deion Sanders talks a lot about character, but his bullying behavior shows little of that
Deion Sanders’ press conferences often feel like a sermon. When he’s on a roll, his words have a rhythm and energy that remind me of a Sunday morning in the Black church. He will have you believe that his purpose for being at Colorado is bigger than just football. Winning can be important, but developing both complete people and all-round players is imperative. When talking about the type of recruits he is looking for, he mentions intelligence, speed and toughness, but extra emphasis is placed when he mentions character and discipline. He pulls out those words and lets them hang in the air for a moment.
Today those words ring hollow. Today, Sanders sounds and looks like a hypocrite. The man who once refused to ignore a slight verbal put-down from an opposing coach because “my mother taught me that you’re not just going to attack me, and I’m not going to sit back and say nothing” is refusing to answer questions from a local columnist because he doesn’t like what the person has written about him and the program.
From my point of view, that doesn’t seem like character. It’s more like cowardice.
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Sanders, Buffs will no longer answer questions from the local columnist
Everyone knows you don’t run from a bully, perceived or actual. You stand up to the person. Would Sanders tell his team to run and hide when facing an opponent who is favored by two or three touchdowns? Of course not. He told his players to stand their ground and meet the moment.
But in this case, he asked or allowed the Colorado athletic department to notify The Denver Post that no one from the football program would answer questions from columnist Sean Keeler because of “a series of persistent, personal attacks” in Keeler’s coverage of the program. When asked for specific examples, a sports information employee cited the use of phrases such as “false prophet,” “Deposition Deion,” “Planet Prime,” “Bruce Lee of BS,” “the Deion Kool-Aid” and “circus.” according to the Post.
I understand that Sanders is bothered by such characterizations, but I also know that an FBS head coach’s skin must be thicker than single-ply toilet paper. However, Sanders has never dealt well with criticism and goes back to his time as a professional football and baseball player.
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When he suited up for the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons on the same day decades ago, Tim McCarver, a catcher turned broadcaster, criticized him for it. McCarver was a purist and did not like what he believed was a circus. Sanders later responded by dumping several buckets of ice water on McCarver’s head in the clubhouse.
A few years ago, while coaching at Jackson State, Sanders refused to answer a reporter’s question when the person addressed him as Deion instead of Coach Prime at Southwestern Conference media day.
“If you call Nick (Saban), Nick, you’ll get yelled at on the spot,” Sanders told the reporter, referring to the former Alabama coach. ‘So don’t do that to me. Treat me like Nick.”
Two weeks ago, Sanders dismissively waved goodbye to a CBS reporter after learning of the reporter’s connection.
“I don’t do anything with CBS. Next question, he said. ‘It has nothing to do with you. It’s up there. It has nothing to do with you. I have love for you. I appreciate you. I respect you. It has nothing to do with you. They know what they did.”
At the same press conference, Sanders also refused to answer a question from Keeler. Once is an accident, twice is coincidence and three times is a behavioral pattern.
Sanders made up with CBS reporter Eric Christensen the following week, offering him a one-on-one interview, but the situation with Keeler is unlikely to be resolved so quickly or smoothly. Department officials have not indicated if or when its position will change, though it said it will continue to credential Keeler and other Post reporters for games, practices and other football events. Keeler will not be recognized for questions from the football program, but he may interview administrators, coaches and participants in other sports.
Attempts to control the sports media are nothing new, especially in college football. For example, in 2012, USC briefly banned a media member after he reported a player injury. And last season, the Trojans temporarily suspended a beat writer for reporting on a conversation two players had in front of the media.
There are other examples and battles being fought that the public never hears about, and without a coach who preaches love, peace and empathy and walks away from the opportunity to show his players how to handle a difficult situation. But that’s what bullies do, right? When they realize that they are not likely to win, they turn and run away. They give ammunition to critics who might argue that their sermons are nothing more than empty words, covered in style but devoid of substance.
Required reading
(Photo: Louis Grasse/Getty Images)
