Deion Sanders has had a feisty relationship with the media ever since he began his tenure as Colorado Buffaloes head coach. And in the latest chapter, he made reporters turn in their phones when attending an open practice on Tuesday.
The Colorado head coach enjoyed a remarkable start to his tenure on the sidelines in Boulder, even winning Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year. The media blitzkrieg surrounding his flashy first year soon subsided when the results couldn’t keep up with the hype. After an eye-popping start, Colorado slumped to a 4-8 finish in his first season. That was followed by a solid 9-4 comeback campaign in 2025 before the bottom fell out in 2026 and the program suffered with a 3-9 record.
And through it all, Sanders has been combative with the press. And now he’s barring them from reporting on practice.
The Colorado coach held an open practice for the first time for both fans and media members. However, those reporters in attendance had to turn in their phones according to The Athletic. And they were also barred from reporting anything they saw at the practice.
An e-mail from Colorado said, “Nothing observed at practice may be reported, published, posted, broadcast or otherwise shared in any form, on any platform, at any time. If you are uncertain whether something is reportable, the answer is that it is not.”
You could look at this two ways. Colorado opening practice for fans is a positive, and if the price of opening up practice is that everyone is on the same level and nothing can be shared, then perhaps that is the price of admission.
But if you want to view it through the lens of Deion Sanders trying to exert power over the media and send a message before the season, you would be well within your rights given the history. Sanders has clashed with writers, been accused of intimidating local reporters, and refused to answer questions from others. Just last month, Sanders took a shot at The Athletic when asked about the new CFB video game.
Football coaches wanting to control the flow of information from their program is nothing new. But for Deion Sanders, his years-long battle with the media is on a whole different level. And it’s likely to continue for as long as he’s on the Colorado sidelines.
About Matt Yoder