Deion Sanders, Colorado ban Denver columnist from asking questions due to 'series of sustained, personal attacks'
On Friday, Colorado athletics informed The Denver Post that head coach Deion Sanders and anyone else in the CU football program will no longer take questions from columnist Sean Keeler. The athletic department provided further details in its statement to The Denver Post‘s editors.
“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 statement read.
When The Denver Post asked Colorado athletics for examples of Keeler’s personal attacks on Sanders, a CU sports information staffer cited his use of phrases such as “false prophet,” “Deposition Deion,” “Planet Prime,” “Bruce Lee of B.S.,” “the Deion Kool-Aid” and “circus.”
Colorado further stated its decision to refuse questions from Keeler was indefinite. Although, the program noted Sanders and his fellow staffers will still take questions from other reporters from The Denver Post.
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Colorado’s athletic department did not specify if Sanders was the one who requested Keeler to be prohibited from asking questions. However, Sanders’ contract states he is only required to speak with “mutually agreed upon media.”
As of this report, Keeler’s latest story regarding Colorado football was about former Buffaloes special teams coach Trevor Reilly reportedly traveling to Saudi Arabia to lobby the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) for Name, Image, and Likeness funding.
This isn’t the first time Sanders has butted heads with a reporter. Earlier this month, the 57-year-old head coach shut down a journalist at a press conference due to his affiliation with CBS.
When Sanders was the Jackson State head coach in 2021, the program barred a reporter from the Jackson Clarion-Ledger from covering the Southwestern Athletic Conference Media Day. The day before the event, that reporter wrote a story on a domestic violence charge against one of the team’s top recruits.
Deion Sanders and Co. have greater concerns ahead of them than the media. On Aug. 29, Colorado will kick off its 2024 campaign with a showdown against North Dakota State at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.