Coach Deion Sanders Upset with Reporter Who Called Him by First Name

By Alyssa Wilson Published: July 21, 2021

Coach Deion Sanders Upset with Reporter Who Called Him by First Name

Jackson State's head football coach Deion Sanders. (AP Images)

By: Alyssa Wilson

Jackson State University coach and former NFL player Deion Sanders let it be known that he should be addressed as “coach.”

During a Southwestern Athletic Conference media day event on Tuesday, a Clarion Ledger reporter referred to him as “Deion.” The Super Bowl champion responded to the reporter saying, “You don’t call Nick Saban, ‘Nick’,” referring to the coach of Alabama’s football team. “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. Treat me like Nick.”

Deion Sanders deserves respect and if you don’t give it to him? He’s out. See ya. @DeionSanders @21standprime pic.twitter.com/NEnuOJlx9m

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) July 21, 2021

When the reporter referred to Sanders as “Deion” again, the star athlete stood up and walked away. According to ESPN, Sanders clarified he did not leave the event, and instead went to speak to another news outlet. Sanders also tweeted, “Please don’t allow a fool to fool u because then nobody would truly know who the fool is.”

Never walked out of media day. 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. Please don’t allow a fool to fool u because then nobody would truly know who the fool is. https://t.co/csbTRNgJvd

— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) July 20, 2021

The Clarion Ledger reporter, who was identified as Nick Suss, said, “When I interview people, I call them by their first name. Whether it’s someone I’ve been working with for years or someone I’m talking to for the first time,” he said. “This is true of the coaches and players on the Ole Miss beat, the coaches and players at Mississippi State and Southern Miss when I help out covering their teams, as recently as January; even Sanders, too.”

Jackson went 4-3 in his first year as the coach for the HBCU, the Clarion Ledger reported. He has been vocal about the lack of talent being drafted from football programs like the one he leads.

During the 2021 NFL Draft, no players from HBCUs were selected. Sanders posted on social media to express his frustrations, writing, “And we have the audacity to hate on one another while our kids are being NEGLECTED & REJECTED. I witnessed a multitude of kids that we played against that were more than qualified to be drafted. My prayers are that this won’t EVER happen again. Get you knife out of my back and fight with me not against me.”