Colorado bans reporter from questioning Deion Sanders citing 'personal attacks' in previous coverage

Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders had a tense exchange with a reporter during media day on Aug. 9. Sanders made it clear that he was not fond of some of Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler’s coverage of him and the Buffaloes football program in the past.

“You don’t like us, man. Why do you do this to yourself?” Sanders asked Keeler at one point during the press conference. “No, I’m serious. Why do you do this? Like you know you don’t. Like, why do you do this?”

Two weeks after the back and forth, Colorado announced that Keeler would no longer be permitted to direct questions at Sanders or anyone else involved with the football program. The university described some of Keeler’s past coverage as “personal attacks on the football program.”

“After a series of sustained, personal attacks on the football program and specifically Coach Prime, the CU Athletic Department in conjunction with the football program, have decided not to take questions from Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler at football-related events,” the athletic department said in a statement obtained by ESPN. 

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Colorado officials added that the reporter’s access to “football-related activities” remains intact, and his colleagues from the newspaper are free to direct questions to the Buffaloes’ head coach.

“Keeler is still permitted to attend football-related activities as a credentialed member of the media and other reporters from the Denver Post are welcome to ask questions of football program personnel made available to the media, including coaches, players and staff.”

Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes watches as his team plays their spring game at Folsom Field on April 27, 2024, in Boulder, Colorado.   (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

A Colorado athletic department spokesperson told the outlet that some of Keeler’s previous references to Sanders were an issue, including instances when the coach was referred to as “Deposition Deion,” the “Bruce Lee of B.S.,” and a “false prophet.” Certain phrases such as “Planet Prime,” “the Deion Kool-Aid” and “circus” also created points of contention, the unnamed Colorado athletic department media relations staffer said, per The Denver Post.

The exchange between Sanders and Keeler earlier this month went on for around 90 seconds, with the Pro Football Hall of Famer pushing Keeler for an answer to his question. Keeler did ask Sanders multiple times if he could ask a “football question.”

“It would be hard for me to really engage in someone I don’t like or someone I don’t like. I’m just asking why? Like why? What did I do?” Sanders repeated.

The columnist responded by telling the coach that he “didn’t do anything.”

“You’ve gotta pay bills, man. You didn’t do anything. It’s not about that. This is a football question,” he said.

The columnist then again tried to ask a question, but Sanders continued his line of questioning.

“But why? I’m asking you why? … You want me to answer you, so why? … You’re always under attack. Like what did we do to you?” Sanders said.

Sanders eventually agreed to discuss the matter with Keeler in a private setting at a later date.

“No, we’ll talk about that when we talk about that. I’ll talk about that with you,” Sanders said. 

Head Coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes speaks at the 2024 Big 12 Conference Football Media Day at Allegiant Stadium on July 10, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Louis Grasse/Getty Images)

Keeler published a column shortly after the exchange with Sanders, which said the coach was “a confident man who suddenly looked and acted and sounded … afraid.” 

The Denver Post said that Sanders’ contract states that he only has to talk to “mutually agreed-upon media.”

Denver Post sports editor Matt Schubert responded to Colorado’s move to ban Keeler from questioning Sanders. 

“It’s well within anyone’s right to not take questions from [Denver Post sports reporters and columnists]. The reasons listed here by CU, however, are entirely subjective. It would be more accurate to say, ‘We don’t like Sean Keeler’s critiques of our program,’” Schubert wrote in a post shared on social media.

Keeler is the latest reporter whom Sanders took issue with and ultimately banned. When he was the head coach at Jackson State in 2021, a reporter with the Mississippi Clarion Ledger was barred from covering the football program. The outlet posted a story that touched on a court filing about a top recruit who faced charges stemming from an alleged assault on a woman. The paper learned of the banning the day after the story was published.

Colorado finished the 2023 campaign with a 4-8 record. Sanders hopes to improve on that record this year. The Buffaloes will host North Dakota State on Aug. 31 to open the 2024 season.

The game will also mark Colorado’s debut as a member of the Big 12 Conference.

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