Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders had a tense exchange with a reporter, Sean Keeler, during media day on Aug. 9. Sanders expressed his displeasure with Keeler’s coverage of him and the Buffaloes football program in the past. Two weeks later, Colorado announced that Keeler would no longer be allowed to direct questions at Sanders or anyone else involved with the program due to what the university described as “personal attacks on the football program.”
Despite being banned from questioning Sanders, Keeler’s access to football-related activities remains intact, and his colleagues from the Denver Post are still allowed to ask questions. Keeler had made references to Sanders using phrases like “Deposition Deion,” the “Bruce Lee of B.S.,” and a “false prophet,” as well as terms like “Planet Prime” and “the Deion Kool-Aid,” which reportedly created points of contention.
During the exchange between Sanders and Keeler, which lasted around 90 seconds, Sanders repeatedly questioned why Keeler did not like him and why he was attacking him. The journalist attempted to ask a football-related question, but Sanders continued to inquire about the reasons behind Keeler’s actions. Sanders eventually agreed to discuss the matter with Keeler in a private setting at a later date.
After the incident, Keeler published a column stating that Sanders appeared “afraid” during their exchange. The head coach’s contract stipulates that he only needs to speak to “mutually agreed-upon media,” which prompted Denver Post sports editor Matt Schubert to respond to Colorado’s decision to ban Keeler from questioning Sanders, saying the reasons cited by the university were subjective and based on critiques of the program rather than personal attacks.
Keeler is not the first reporter whom Sanders has taken issue with and ultimately banned from covering his team. In 2021, when Sanders was the head coach at Jackson State, a reporter from the Mississippi Clarion Ledger was barred from covering the football program after publishing a story about a recruit facing assault charges. Colorado finished the 2023 season with a 4-8 record, and Sanders looks to improve on that performance this year as the Buffaloes open their 2024 season against North Dakota State as a member of the Big 12 Conference.
