Deion Sanders accused of preemptively stopping journalists from asking tough questions

USA Today's Mike Freeman accused Deion Sanders of intentionally intimidating the media during a fiery August 9 press conference to control the narrative when things get really bad and the tougher questions start coming if the Buffs once again sport a losing record after the 2024 season.

"If Sanders has another bad season the microscope will get far bigger than it is now," Freeman wrote. "So Sanders is working the refs ahead of that possible outcome by attempting to intimidate the media. If things go bad, he wants to preemptively stop journalists from asking tough questions. He wants reporters and opinion writers to feel it’s not worth the trouble. That there will be pain in return if they do."

That's one way to look at it. Another way is that Coach Prime may have been angry he had to be present at a news conference, surrounded by some reporters who only cover him negatively, on the day of his first grandson's birth.

Also, Sanders did nothing different than Lane Kiffin, Nick Saban, and countless other coaches over the years. Kiffin is still intimidating reporters while Saban made the slogan "rat poison" famous by accusing countless writers of supplying it in the form of Crimson Tide criticism.

Deion Sanders went too far by calling out CBS Colorado reporter

Sanders took too many liberties during his now-infamous August 9 presser. Had he kept the criticism confined to The Denver Post's Sean Keeler, few would've had a problem with the outing. Keeler himself admitted he had it coming.

However, denying CBS Colorado's Eric Christensen a question was a sticking point for many. Christensen is a proud CU alum and CBS Colorado broadcasts Coach Prime's coaching show. As was getting petty about the language used by the Associated Press's reporter on hand.

Calling out one bad actor is one thing. But lashing out at several media members gives credence to conspiracies like Freeman's.