Deion Sanders should know by now that anything he says can and will be used against him regardless of how he tries to add a comical spin to it. His recent round of verbal sparring is a prime example.
On Tuesday, Jan. 28, Sanders definitely made his presence known in Newark, NJ at the Media Day press events for Super Bowl XLVIII.
The legendary cornerback actually snagged a brief, “exclusive interview” with Seattle Seahawks’ star running back Marshawn Lynch.
For those who aren’t aware, the opportunity for anyone to speak publicly with media-shy Lynch is a laudable feat. Lynch ultimately walked out of the official, hour-long press conference after only attending for less than 10 minutes.
However, most NFL enthusiasts wouldn’t consider Sanders‘ talk with Lynch to be much of an interview, which was the crux of the problem.
New York Giants’ PR expert Pat Hanlon obviously felt some kind of way about Sanders’ tenacious approach with Lynch. As a result, Sanders and Hanlon, who was a guest panelist with the NFL Network, ended up exchanging words.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Hanlon decided to cite Sanders’ not-so-great statistics as a tackler on live television. Sanders definitely didn’t appreciate the underlying insult about his career.
Media Day and Prime is Ready baby! Truth pic.twitter.com/YZdxJYvSTw
— DeionSanders (@DeionSanders) January 28, 2014
NFL Network host Rich Eisen actually set the stage for the verbal confrontation when he lauded Sanders for getting even a brief interview with Lynch given his history with the press. Bob Raissman of NY Daily News provided a detailed dialogue of the sparring match.
“And he’s also tough to tackle when you’re trying to interview him,” Eisen said.
“Prime got him,” Hanlon said smiling. “Hey, they said Prime didn’t tackle anybody (when he played). Well, he just ‘tackled’ Marshawn Lynch… Sorry to bring that up. I’m a Giant.”
Then, Sanders’ responded to Hanlon’s quipping insult. “I’m about to go into Beast Mode (on Hanlon). Name one game when you didn’t see me (make tackles) — especially against the Giants. Show me the tape,” Sanders said. “See, I get offended when people say that.”
However, Hanlon wouldn’t back down. He opted to approach the situation again with adulation. “When I think about you, I think about you breaking (kicker) Brad Daluiso’s leg (in 1999) returning a kickoff,” Hanlon said.
“Let’s not get off the subject,” Sanders said. “Name me one game… One game when you ever saw me cost my team anything? That (Deion Sanders) hit reel is 59 minutes long. If you want to be the last minute on that hit reel, you can.”
Then, Hanlon opted for the public relations route in an effort to divert the negative nature of the conversation. “We can replay the tape,” Hanlon said. “I didn’t say you didn’t tackle. I said THEY said you didn’t tackle.”
“Good, that’s a good way to get out of it,” Sanders said sarcastically. “Well done. That’s a good answer.”
Its probably safe to say their proverbial jabs were actually worse than any verbal exchange between Seahawks and Broncos all week.
Image via Twitter | Deion Sanders