You don't call Deion Sanders by his first name
doubledragon
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This is the latest insane news story making the rounds. During a media conference, a reporter addressed Deion Sanders by his first name and Deion took offense to it and walked out.
Deion Sanders walks out of SWAC media day after reporter addresses him as 'Deion'
Apparently Deion Sanders isn’t a fan of being addressed by his own first name.
Sanders, the NFL Hall of Famer who is entering his second season as the head coach at Jackson State, walked out of a Southwestern Athletic Conference media day event on Tuesday after a reporter addressed him as “Deion” when asking a question.
Sanders, who seems to favor "Coach Prime," claimed that Alabama coach Nick Saban does not like being referred to by his first name, and that he should be treated the same as Saban. He later tweeted video of the full exchange, calling the controversy that ensured "minimal" and deeming the outlet, The Clarion Ledger, "FOOLISH" for its reporter Nick Suss' conduct.
The full exchange:
Suss: "Hey Deion, was just wondering if you could—"
Sanders: "Hold on, let's back up a little bit. You don't call Nick Saban 'Nick.' Don't call me Deion."
Suss: "I call Nick Saban 'Nick.'"
Sanders: "No you don't, that's a lie. If you call Nick 'Nick,' you know you’ll get cussed out on the spot, so don’t do that to me. Treat me like Nick."
Suss: "OK, Deion."
Sanders: "Alright. (walks out)"
While some reporters will address a coach as “coach,” many others will simply address them by their first name like any other human being. And that includes Saban. Sanders’ statement that Saban will cuss out a reporter that calls him “Nick” is simply untrue. Watch any Alabama news conference, or listen to the people who cover him, and you will know that not to be the case.
Suss explained as much, saying he has done it when covering previous Sanders news conferences, too.
"When I interview people, I call them by their first name," Suss said. "Whether it's someone I've been working with for years or someone I'm talking to for the first time. 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 and, as recently as January, even Sanders, too."
Sanders later took to Twitter to offer his side of the story, before tweeting the entire exchange.
Deion Sanders' second season as Jackson State's head coach begins on September 5 against Florida A&M.
After the fall season was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jackson State played seven games during the spring and went 4-3. Sanders has attracted plenty of high-level talent to the program since taking over as head coach. That includes FBS transfers and some recruits who had scholarship offers from Power Five programs.
Comments
Here is the video of this legendary exchange.
Just another "has been" ballplayer. One of tens of thousands. The world has passed him by. Adjusting to being a nobody is very difficult for some people.
Call me anything except late for dinner.
I wouldn't call him to dinner period..... why risk choking on the broccoli and cheese sauce?
Saban and Alabama were on the SEC Media Days this morning. I've never heard coach get mad for being called Nick. A couple of reporters called him Nick today. He thanked the media in his closing statements.
Don't know about Coach Prime though, never was a fan of his. Great player though, right Deion?
sounds more like celine deion...
as a coach, why is "neon" even comparing himself to nick saban in the first place? checkers and chess.
"ok, deion" had my crying though!
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Saban was asked about the situation during an appearance at the SEC media day on Wednesday.
"Look, I respond to just about anything and I’ve been called just about everything," Saban said, via AL.com. "It’s not something that’s important to me."
"I think everybody should have the opportunity to sort of make or create their expectation of how they get addressed."
This is a fascinating video.
What a clown honestly. His agenda is “He treats a white coach with more respect”. Gimme a break
I've been think about this situation, and I've decided that I want be be called Uncle Pennybags. From here on out, I will only respond to Uncle Pennybags, and anyone who doesn't call me by this name will be met with silence!
you sure about this?
I renounce being called Uncle Pennybags, do not call me Uncle Pennybags, I wish to be called Double D. Anyone who calls me Uncle Pennybags will be met with silence!
"Neon"....problem solved
no free parking then? shoulda kept my mouth shut.
No sir, no free parking, and when you pass go, I'll be expecting $200!