Deion Sanders does not take too kindly to being called by his first name.
Sanders, entering his second season as head coach of Jackson State, made that clear at Tuesday’s Southwestern Athletic Conference media day event after he was addressed as “Deion” by a reporter for a second time.
“You don’t call [Alabama’s] Nick Saban, ‘Nick.’ Don’t call me Deion,” Sanders told a reporter from the Clarion Ledger.
Sanders claimed that “if you call Nick [Saban], Nick, you’ll get cussed out on the spot,” adding, “so don’t do that to me. Treat me like Nick.”
Sanders later tweeted on Tuesday that he “never walked out of media day.”
He would soon post the footage for all to see.
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“This is how all of this started,” he said on Twitter. “I really Pray for all of us because this was something so minimal that was hilarious to me that you allowed a FOOLISH media outlet and person to play on your Preconceived notions. I’m all about Peace, Love, Work, Commitment, Sacrifice and Forgiveness.”
“Stop allowing folks you don’t have a relationship with to convince you otherwise about someone you do have a relationship with. I’ve been (100) with you since 85 and I ain’t gon stop now that I’m COACH PRIME. And I had a GREAT TIME AT THE HBCU PRESS CONFERENCE & I NEVER LEFT.”
Sanders went 4-3 in his first season with the Tigers, a campaign that was pushed to this past spring due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Jackson State opens this season on Sept. 5 against Florida A&M.
