The Colorado athletics department has informed The Denver Post that head coach Deion Sanders and anyone else within the Buffs football program will no longer take questions from columnist Sean Keeler.
In a statement provided to The Post’s editors on Friday, department officials said the decision was due to what it perceived as “a series of sustained, personal attacks” in Keeler’s coverage of the football program.
When asked for specific examples of how Keeler personally attacked Sanders and the program, a sports information staffer cited his use of phrases such as “false prophet,” “Deposition Deion,” “Planet Prime,” “Bruce Lee of B.S.,” “the Deion Kool-Aid” and “circus.”
“After a series of sustained, personal attacks on the football program and specifically Coach Prime, the CU Athletic Department in conjunction with the football program, have decided not to take questions from Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler at football-related events,” the CU statement read.
The statement did not specify how long Keeler would be unable to ask questions, but a spokesman later clarified that the action was indefinite.
CU sports information staff members said the university will continue to credential Keeler and other reporters from The Post for games, practices and other football events. Only Keeler will be restricted from asking questions, and he will still be welcome to ask questions of other CU athletics programs and athletics administrators.
Asked if Sanders requested Keeler be barred from asking questions, the staffers declined to answer.
CU indicated that it has taken similar actions against reporters and news organizations at football media availabilities before. The spokespeople would not reveal which reporters or publications those were, or why those actions were taken.
Sanders has specific language in his contract that requires him to speak only with “mutually agreed upon media” as part of his employment with CU. The “mutually agreed upon” clause does not appear in the contracts of either Buffs men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle or women’s basketball coach JR Payne — nor was it in the contract of Sanders’ predecessor, Karl Dorrell.
This is not the first time an action like this has been taken against a journalist covering a team coached by Coach Prime.
In July 2021, a reporter from the Jackson Clarion-Ledger was barred from reporting on the Jackson State football team at the Southwestern Athletic Conference Media Day — a day after that reporter wrote a story detailing a domestic violence charge against one of the team’s top recruits.
CU athletics began barring Keeler from asking questions the week of Aug. 12, days after Keeler wrote a column critical of Sanders’ behavior at the university’s fall sports media day. Neither The Post nor Keeler were informed of the action until after Keeler attended a football practice on Aug. 13.
Post sports editor Matt Schubert and editor Lee Ann Colacioppo contacted CU sports information that afternoon and met with two staff members over a video conference call on Aug. 14 to discuss the action. At the conclusion of the meeting, The Post requested specific parameters in writing and submitted a list of questions. CU sent its statement nine days later on Friday.
The statement did not cite any specific media policies violated by Keeler. When asked for clarification, a sports information staffer said that Keeler had not violated any specific media policies.