7:16 AM PT — 7/21 — Sanders has now posted video from the incident … claiming it shows his reaction to being called “Deion” was “something so minimal.”
In the footage, you can see Sanders does, in fact, get on a reporter about calling him by his first name … saying he wants to be treated like Saban.
You can see in the clip, the reporter clearly doesn’t want to do that … and proceeds to call the coach “Deion” a second time.
That’s when Sanders took off his headset and left the podium.
In his caption on the video, Sanders explained, “This is how all of this started, I really Pray for all of us because this was something so minimal that was hilarious to me that you allowed a FOOLISH media outlet and person to play on your Preconceived notions.”
Sanders added, “I had a GREAT TIME AT THE HBCU PRESS CONFERENCE & I NEVER LEFT. I LEFT THE FOOLISHNESS BECAUSE I’ve learned the gift of walking away from Mess. Ladies and Gentlemen stop allowing disrespect! People will do what they think they can get away with! Not today, God bless u all.”
4:52 PM PT — Sanders claims he never “walked out” of media day over the incident … instead, he says he simply dropped the reporters’ call.
4:52 PM PT — “I prolonged my time to answer another question & the person thought it was cute to address me the way he did so I dropped the call & went to the next outlet,” Sanders said Tuesday afternoon.
“Please don’t allow a fool to fool u because then nobody would truly know who the fool is.”
It’s apparently “Coach” Sanders or it’s no Sanders for Deion Sanders … ’cause the Jackson State headman allegedly shut down interviews Tuesday after reporters referred to him as simply “Deion.”
The bizarre scene reportedly took place during SWAC Media Day in Birmingham, Ala. … when The Clarion-Ledger claims Sanders went off on one of its writers, Nick Suss, for calling the coach by his 1st name.
“You don’t call Nick Saban, ‘Nick,'” the outlet claims Sanders told Suss, referring to Alabama’s legendary head football coach. “Don’t call me Deion.”
“If you call Nick [Saban], Nick, you’ll get cussed out on the spot, so don’t do that to me,” Sanders reportedly added. “Treat me like Nick.”
The Clarion-Ledger says when the football coach was referred to as Deion a second time during the interviews … it claims that’s when Sanders stormed out of the event.
Sanders — who’s very active on social media — has yet to comment publicly on the allegations.
Deion Sanders wants to know why the media doesn’t give HBCU football more coverage.
What’s interesting about it all is Sanders is well-known for his nicknames … responding to both “Neon Deion” and “Prime Time” during and after his NFL career.
As we previously reported, 53-year-old Sanders took over the Jackson State football program in 2020 … and posted a 4-3 record in his first season as headman.
JSU is slated to kick off its second season with Sanders at the helm in September.
Originally Published — 7/20 2:57 PM PT
