Colorado bans reporter from asking Deion Sanders questions

Colorado The school confirmed Friday that it has banned Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler from asking questions of football coach Deion Sanders or other members of the football program.

“After a series of persistent personal attacks on the football program and specifically Coach Prime, the CU Athletic Department in conjunction with the football program have decided to no longer ask questions of Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler at football-related events,” the athletic department said in a statement provided to ESPN. “Keeler is still permitted to attend football-related activities as a credentialed member of the media and other Denver Post reporters are welcome to ask questions of football program personnel made available to the media, including coaches, players and staff.”

According to the Post, a Colorado athletic department media relations employee told the newspaper that he objected to Keeler calling Sanders “Deposition Dion,” the “Bruce Lee of BS” and a “false prophet” and using phrases such as “Planet Prime,” “Dion Kool-Aid” and “circus.” The ban is indefinite, according to the Post.

The decision comes two weeks after a news conference in which Sanders accused Keeler of “always being on the offensive” and asked, “Why did you get in this situation?”

“No, I’m serious. I want to help because this isn’t normal,” Sanders said.

During this conversation, Keeler asked several times if he could ask a football-related question and Sanders declined, then moved on to a reporter who asked about his birthday plans. Before Keeler spoke at the news conference, the reporter asked Sanders, “How important is it for everyone to include Aflac as part of their life?” (Sanders is a salaried spokesman for the insurance company.)

In her column after the news conference, Keeler described Sanders as “a self-confident man who suddenly seemed to look, behave and speak much better…” Fear,

According to the Post, a unique clause in Sanders’ contract states that he must only speak to “mutually agreed-upon media.”

one of social media postsDenver Post sports editor Matt Schubert said, “It’s within anyone’s right not to ask questions of (the Denver Post’s sports reporters and columnists). However, the reasons listed here by CU are entirely subjective. It would be more accurate to say, ‘We don’t like Sean Keeler’s criticism of our program.'”

When asked by the Post for clarification, a Colorado sports information staffer told the newspaper that “Keeler did not violate any specific media policy.”

Sanders has a history of using his influence as a coach to prevent reporters from asking questions about his program. In 2021, a reporter from the Mississippi Clarion Ledger was barred from covering Jackson State, where Sanders was the coach, at Southwestern Athletic Conference media day after the Clarion Ledger published a story related to a court filing about an incoming recruit who was accused of assaulting a woman.

Sanders’ second season as Colorado’s coach begins Thursday North Dakota State (8 p.m. ET, ESPN.) The Buffaloes went 4-8 last season and finished last in the Pac-12.