The 2024 faculty soccer season has not even began but, and Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders is already off to a rocky begin with the native media.
After a defensive press convention a few weeks in the past the place he refused to reply questions from a neighborhood CBS affiliate (an issue that seems to have been resolved), Matt Schubert of the Denver Publish reported on Friday that one in every of their columnists — Sean Keeler — has been banned from asking inquiries to Sanders and the remainder of the Colorado soccer program.
Sanders reportedly has a clause in his contract that solely requires him to reply questions from mutually agreed upon media, one thing that’s virtually unparalleled in high-level sports activities.
The soccer program knowledgeable the Publish that Keeler could be banned from asking questions for what it referred to as “a collection of sustained, private assaults.”
“When requested for particular examples of how Keeler personally attacked Sanders and this system, a sports activities data staffer cited his use of phrases reminiscent of ‘false prophet,’ ‘Deposition Deion,’ ‘Planet Prime,’ “Bruce Lee of B.S.,’ ‘the Deion Kool-Help’ and ‘circus,” Schubert wrote.
“’After a collection of sustained, private assaults on the soccer program and particularly Coach Prime, the CU Athletic Division together with the soccer program, have determined to not take questions from Denver Publish columnist Sean Keeler at football-related occasions,’ the CU assertion learn.”
The paper was additionally knowledgeable the choice is indefinite.
This can be a robust search for Colorado. When Sanders arrived at Colorado expectations had been by way of the roof, particularly after a few early wins to open the 2023 season. However issues rapidly unraveled attributable to an absence of depth and offensive line issues, leading to a 4-8 report (and 1-8 in convention) and a season-ending six-game shedding streak.
Whereas the criticisms and feedback from Keeler could be harsh, it’s the actual sort of factor each big-time faculty soccer program or skilled sports activities staff faces when they don’t win. Sanders and the soccer have put a reasonably large goal on their backs by elevating expectations and speaking a giant recreation. Thus far, they haven’t delivered. So long as that’s going to be the case, heavy criticism goes to return with the territory till they begin producing.