Back on July 20, 2021, at the Sheraton-Birmingham SWAC Media Day, Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders grew visibly frustrated during a press session when Clarion-Ledger reporter Nick Suss addressed him simply as "Deion." After it happened twice, a frustrated Sanders cut him off, demanding he not be called by his first name. 

When Suss pushed back and insisted that he routinely addressed other high-profile coaches by their first names, including Nick Saban as Nick, Sanders flatly refused to believe the justification. 

“No, you don't. No, you don't. That's a lie. If you call Nick 'Nick,' you get cussed out on the spot. So don't do that and treat me like Nick (Saban),” said the coach.

Despite the warning, Suss still referred to him as "OK, Deion."

That seemingly harmless moment from Suss was enough to make Sanders stand up and walk out of the interview. While Sanders moved on to another outlet, the internet viewed it as a deliberate walkout.

Sanders took to his X account to address the hubbub, saying that he never walks out of interviews, but that there are certain boundaries.

“Never walked out of media day. I prolonged my time to answer another question & the person thought it was cute to address me the way he did, so I dropped the call & went to the next outlet. Please don’t allow a fool to fool u because then nobody would truly know who the fool is,” said the coach on his X handle.

While the moment was controversial enough, Nick Suss told the Clarion Ledger that he calls everyone by their first name whenever he interviews someone.

“When I interview people, I call them by their first name. Whether it's someone I've been working with for years or someone I'm talking to for the first time,” said Suss.

Amid the controversy, Coach Deion Sanders doubled down

While the controversy was at its peak, The Spun spoke with Coach Prime. During the interview, they asked whether he felt his actions had sent a message across the sport about respecting coaches, to which the coach responded with a resounding yes.

“What you’re referring to, that was just someone being disrespectful. He had no idea we had a commercial on hand with one of the greatest coaches of all time addressing me as ‘Coach Prime,” said the coach.

However, he expressed that he doesn’t have any hard feelings toward the reporter.

“So I think that made him look like an idiot. We win in the end. I’m pretty sure if he’s even allowed at SWAC Media Day, I’ll welcome him. It’s no problem,” Sanders concluded.

What are your thoughts on Deion Sanders actions? Do you believe he was right? State your opinion in the comments below.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi