Deion Sanders Is Good For College Football, But Colorado Limiting Media Questions Is Not | Trey Wallace

If you've noticed over the past week, the conversations surrounding Colorado football have not been about the upcoming season. Instead, they've veered more towards the interactions Deion Sanders is having with media members that cover the team. 

You might be wondering why this has been such a big deal, and if you look how hard enough, you'll see that this has been an ongoing problem for some people covering Colorado since the electric coach set foot on campus almost two years ago. 

When Deion Sanders and the Colorado athletic department decided to revoke the privileges of Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler from asking questions during media availabilities, there were thousands of different takes from folks across the country. Obviously, fans of Colorado and Deion praised the move, given that they had seen or read the work by Keeler and thought it was more of a hit job compared to fair criticism. 

While Keeler is not allowed to ask a question, he can still attend practices and actually be in the press conferences, but will not be called on. This makes the whole decision just weird. 

But, there seems to be a misconception as to what an opinion columnist actually does, or writes about, regarding a topic of discussion. It's not the job of a columnist to give fans the daily briefings on who should be starting, or which player looked good in the 15 minutes of practice that is usually given at most college football programs around the country. 

Most of the time, their job is to give an opinion of a situation occurring, and make you think. If you agree or disagree with the take, that's up to you, but it's viewed as ‘mission accomplished’ if they create a reaction. 

In this case, I won't act as if I'd read every single piece written by this author. I just don't have the time. But in some of the examples given by the Colorado media relations department, they seem to be fixated on a number of descriptions of Deion Sanders that they find to be over the top. OK, that's their prerogative, and how they view the opinion pieces written. 

It should be noted that Deion Sanders is the highest paid state employee in Colorado, and also did a fantastic job of keeping his football program in the news during a chaotic off-season of NCAA movement. Also, there is a stipulation in the contract that Colorado and Deion Sanders agreed to that allows him to have a say when it comes to which media members he interacts with. 

The contract between Deion Sanders and Colorado allows him to pick which media members or companies to work and interact with

But how did we get to a point in the profession where the words written on a page, which might not be a puff-piece about the program, are deemed to be too harsh for that author to ask a question? Have folks been paying attention to the words written about college athletics over the last 100 years? Everyone has an opinion, and some writers are hired to do different jobs. 

It's a little awkward to see a college football head coach go back-and-forth about what the word ‘chemistry’ means, which Sanders did in the same press conference with a veteran writer from the Associated Press, as you can see below. At that same media gathering, you had one member of the press discussing the benefits of Aflac insurance, and how much did that company mean to Deion Sanders. 

This Whole Situation Could've Been Avoided, But It's Now On Colorado

Don't misinterpret what I'm trying to say, but there seems to be such a different type of dynamic when it comes to covering Colorado compared to other schools. If a coach is asking members of the media if they ‘believe’ in the program, then what type of response do you think a reporter who is critical of the program will occasionally get? 

Don't interpret this as me attacking Deion Sanders. This is on Colorado for allowing this situation to escalate to the point of no return. If the athletic department decides to negotiate a deal that allows Sanders to pick who he speaks with during these press gatherings, then it's on the school to deal with the repercussions.  

It's not lost on me that Colorado is a different type of beat, with a coach who is doing things his way. But at the same time, the conversation with the reporter who was barred from asking questions could've been handled much differently. There was no reason why staff members in the media relations department couldn't have met with him outside the room before the press conference and asked him about some of his work, if they disagreed that much with it. 

Disagreements Happen, But This Should Not Escalate Any Further

We also didn’t have to get to a point where the communications department felt the need to bar him from asking questions. Just let them know that he would not be called on, and let him make the decision whether he wanted to cover the team in-person. The whole ordeal once again put Colorado in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. 

And don't think for one minute that it's easy to sit in front of a coach or player who you've been critical of, and ask them a question. It's not easy, we're all human beings with feelings, so don't jump to the conclusion that the job is easy, but reporters do have to face the music when you've written something that might be perceived as negative, when in reality you’re just giving an opinion, in most cases. 

We're All Just Living Within The Reality Show That Deion Sanders Created At Colorado, And It's Working

You can ask some of the most seasoned reporters in the business, and they will tell you that there have been times when they were called out for their work by members of either the coaching staff or the athletic department. If you're converting a team on a daily basis, there are going to be interactions that are uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, we're all just doing our jobs. 

I can't tell you how many times I've had disagreements with SID's or coaches, which have led to some interesting conversations. But at the end of the day, we don't have to agree with each other, and the folks working inside athletic departments across the country are just doing their jobs of protecting the image of their employer. 

Also, let's call it facts, are facts. The folks who cover Colorado on a daily basis and have websites or podcasts that discuss the team, well, they struck gold when Deion Sanders accepted the job. But that doesn't mean everyone has to agree with how things are run in Boulder, and it also doesn't mean that every question to ‘Coach Prime’ has to be a positive one. 

Approach To Deion Sanders Promoting His Program Will Go Two Ways

But there's something different about what Deion Sanders is doing at Colorado, and maybe it will work, or maybe it blows up in his face. Either way, he's standing on his ground, and The Denver Post columnist is trying to do his job, without becoming a mouthpiece for a school. Because we all know that everything coming out of an athletic program is not sunshine and rainbows, there are discussions that need to be had that keep things fair and balanced. 

In all honesty, Deion Sanders has a big enough platform with multiple social media accounts that vlog his daily meetings and practices that he doesn't need to sit in front of reporters, but that comes with the job of being a high-profile college football coach. You gloat and promote the good, while calling out folks who don't agree with your every move. But at the same time, you had better be ready to be on the receiving end when things don't go your way. That's not being biased, that's just life. 

BOULDER, CO - NOVEMBER 4:  Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes has a word with quarterback Shedeur Sanders #2 before his first offensive drive in the first half of a game against the Oregon State Beavers at Folsom Field on November 4, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

I like Deion Sanders, because he's good for the game. He cares about impacting the lives of others, and I'm not overlooking the way in which things went when he arrived and players were sent to the portal. That's just college athletics now, ane every coach is trying to better their roster. The start of the ‘Prime’ era at Colorado is what grabbed the attention of folks, when Sanders made it clear that he was bringing his own luggage. 

The simple fact is that college football fans had never heard someone speak about the transfer portal of their inherited roster in that way, which is why there were so many fans shocked to hear something like that being said in a meeting room. The reality is that those conversations usually happen in the coaches' office, not broadcast on YouTube for everyone to see. 

So, now with the season opener approaching in three days, we're still talking about how Sanders didn’t appreciate how one reporter described the program with his opinion. Isn’t it good to have differing opinions? I guess we'll see when Colorado hits the road in two weeks for a trip to Nebraska.