Deion Sanders seemingly let frustration get the best of him after being questioned about the recent recruiting controversy at Prime Prep Academy, a Dallas-area charter school he co-founded.
During the interview with KRLD, which aired on Wednesday, the NFL hall-of-famer referred to a reporter as an "African American killer," accusing him of only covering stories that implicate black participants as guilty.
MediaBistro notes that the unnamed reporter is likely WFAA reporter Brett Shipp, who has done a series of reports on the recruiting controversy surrounding the sports teams of Sanders' Prime Prep Academy.
Prime Prep has been under investigation for months, with athletics officials banning the school from fielding any varsity teams in 2012-13 due to too many athletes being improperly transferred from outside the district.
When questioned about the school's issues by KRLD, Sanders had some harsh words.
"First of all, this all started mainly by a Caucasian reporter from a news station, Channel 8, you know who I'm talking about, and he seems like he's the African-American killer," Sanders said. "It's always something against a brother. And that bothers me. I've never been accused of cheating with anything, in any sports, in any arena, in my life."
Sanders stressed that the relatively small size of the team, which has roughly 30 students, is evidence that he hasn't employed any recruiting tactics.
"We have a lawyer that’s getting ready to tear some butts up, because a lot of the things that were done to our institution was done wrong because you dislike me," he said. "Don’t allow your disdain for me affect our kids and that’s what’s happening.”
While reporting on the story back in August, Shipp was confronted by a Prime Prep football coach and several players who demanded he stop filming a practice session in a public park. Shipp kept the cameras rolling and posted the video on the WFAA website alongside a report on the team's questionable eligibility.
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