Colorado head coach Deion Sanders’ decision to ban The Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler from asking questions to members of the program has caused no small amount of outrage. But while many believe it’s a case of Sanders being a bully, ESPN’s Desmond Howard has a different perspective.
During an appearance on Get Up, Howard said that the whole situation has reminded him about the conversations he’s seen about mental health. He believes that Sanders is trying to “protect the mental health of his players” as well as himself.
“When I first heard the story, the first thing that popped into my head was how we talk about protecting your mental health,” Howard said, via On3 Sports. “I don’t know if people realize that Deion Sanders is a human being who has spoken openly about trying to commit suicide before. So, when you have a person who is an advocate for mental health, who not only wants to protect his mental health but the number one job of a coach is to protect the mental health of his players too, because you always want to treat all of your players like they’re your sons.”
By most accounts, Keeler was a little over the top with some of his criticism of Sanders. The University of Colorado has accused Keeler of “a series of sustained, personal attacks on the football program and specifically Coach Prime.” Howard said that, with that in mind, he takes less issue with Sanders wanting Keeler out of the media room.
Want the Big 12 to notice you, Colorado State Rams? Want one of those fat-cat TV executives to look at you the way they look at UCF? Beat Texas. @DPCollegeSports column:https://t.co/ZlSQTSRwGt#CSURams #ProudToBe #Stalwart #RamGrit #NCAA #Colorado #Denver #Big12 #ACC #HookEm
— Sean Keeler (@SeanKeeler) August 27, 2024
“So, with that being said, if Deion Sanders believes that this guy who is using words like ‘false prophet’ and things of that nature, which they seem kind of personal to me, and they decide to not answer questions from him anymore. I don’t have an issue with it because I think he has to do what he believes [is] best suited for his own mental health and the mental health of his players.”
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No one is denying that Sanders has the right to have people excluded from interviewing him or his players, but not everyone is as abiding as Howard.
Will Colorado reverse this decision at some point?
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