Deion Sanders says media ban avoids 'attacks' on Colorado players and assistants

Jeff Hauser

Deion Sanders says media ban avoids 'attacks' on Colorado players and assistants image

Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes are in the midst of a rough season. After two bad blowout losses and only one win in Big 12 play, Coach Prime is making changes. This includes revoking media access to his players and assistant coaches.

On his weekly coaches show with Buffs play-by-play voice Mark Johnson, Sanders explained his decision, saying he wants to shield his team from unwanted criticism.

“I’ve been on winning teams, losing teams, and I know how to handle the nonsense," Sanders said. "Everybody’s not built that way. It could really affect and infect the coaches and the young men and they may not recover from it.”

The Buffaloes have lost by a combined 105-24 point total in the past two games against Utah and Arizona. They're also the worst losses during Sanders' tenure at CU.

More: Colorado's Deion Sanders demotes offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur after blowout

With that being said, Coach Prime demoted offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and replaced him with Bart Bartolone, who last called plays at Jackson State. This was a move to benefit new starting quarterback Julian Lewis, but will it shake things up enough?

“Now that you’re receiving finances from NIL, the reporters don’t care anymore,” Sanders said. “They’re attacking you, as well as the coaching staff. And I don’t want them to go through that. I’d rather them attack me. It’s on me.”

Colorado visits West Virginia on Saturday, aiming to keep its slim postseason hopes alive (Noon ET, TNT). 

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Contributing Writer