Getty Former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Deion Sanders is inducted into the Pro Football HOF.
Atlanta Falcons legend and current head coach of Jackson State, Deion Sanders, cut his interview at SWAC Media Day short after a reporter called him by his first name.
The Hall of Famer was offended and before he walked away he demanded the media to treat him the same as they would Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
“Back up a little bit. You don’t call Nick Saban ‘Nick,’ Sanders said in response to Clarion Ledger reporter Nick Suss. “Don’t call me Deion.”
“I call Nick Saban ‘Nick,’” Suss replied.
“No, you don’t. No, you don’t. That’s a lie,” Sanders said back. “If you call Nick ‘Nick’ you get cussed out on the spot. So don’t do that and treat me like Nick.”
Deion Sanders deserves respect and if you don’t give it to him? He’s out. See ya.
ALL the latest Falcons news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Falcons newsletter here!
Suss Claims He Calls Nick Saban ‘Nick’
As Sanders gets up and walks away, Suss continued to explain himself and said he refers to everyone that he interviews by their first name, even Nick.
“When I interview people, I call them by their first name,” Suss said. “Whether it’s someone I’ve been working with for years or someone I’m talking to for the first time. This is true of the coaches and players on the Ole Miss beat, the coaches and players at Mississippi State and Southern Miss when I help out covering their teams and, as recently as January, even Sanders, too.”
Sanders, however, was not fully convinced Suss calls the best coach in college football by his first name and won’t be tolerating that sort of “disrespect.”
He later took to Twitter to finish what he had to say:
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. https://t.co/csbTRNgJvd
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) July 20, 2021
Sanders Is an Atlanta Icon
Sanders was originally drafted by the Falcons fifth overall during the 1989 NFL Draft––the same draft class that featured other greats such as Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, and the late Derrick Thomas.
His nickname, ‘Prime Time’ carried over from his college days at Florida State, soon making him the most popular player beyond the city of Atlanta.
Prime Time played five seasons with the Falcons and earned a Pro-Bowl honor during his last three and first team All-Pro in his final two years in Atlanta.
In 1991, he doubled as an Atlanta Braves outfielder while also suiting up at cornerback for the Falcons. Sanders did that for four seasons with the Braves and nine all-together in the Major Leagues, finishing his career with a .263 batting average and 186 stolen bases.
The Atlanta icon was inducted into the Falcons Ring of Honor in 2012.
READ NEXT: