Deion Sanders apparently took umbrage to a reporter referring to him by his first name Tuesday. The former NFL star, Pro Football Hall of Famer, and current Jackson State coach left SWAC Media Day after a reporter called him, “Deion.”
The unceremonious exit took place after Clarion Ledger reporter Nick Suss asked Sanders a question.
Per the newspaper:
“You don’t call Saban, ‘Nick.’ Don’t call me Deion,” Sanders told Nick Suss from the Clarion Ledger.
“If you call Nick (Saban), Nick, you’ll get cussed out on the spot, so don’t do that to me,” Sanders later added. “Treat me like Nick.”
The paper reports this was the second time for Suss to cover Sanders at SWAC Media Day. Jackson State went 4-3 in Sanders’ first season, which was played in the 2021 spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
More from the Clarion Ledger:
“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.”
Suss has referred to Saban and the football coach on his Ole Miss beat, Lane Kiffin, by their first names, along with the Bulldogs’ national championship baseball coach, Chris Lemonis.
There was a predictable reaction to Prime’s fodder
Given that isn’t remotely true … most reporters call him Nick … here’s guessing this was another (dumb) Deion publicity stunt. https://t.co/qC2iD4Es8o
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) July 20, 2021
Besides the insanity of Deion demanding the same “respect” as Nick Saban (Lololololllllll), he is addressed as Nick at every press conference he’s ever done and he’s never yelled at anyone for it because it’s his name and and he’s not a complete psychopath
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) July 20, 2021
Only if Deion makes it one.
— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) July 20, 2021