NFL to Deion: You Work for Us

Then he looked at the contract and he was like, ‘Uh, O.K.’

It's not just I that think former Redskin Deion Sanders should refrain from commenting on the Michael Vick case at least insofar as not condemning the alleged actions which he did not. If you are new here please refresh yourself here.

Now the NFL through its wholly owned subsidiary the NFL Network has told Deion to cease and desist writing about football is his column in the Southwest Florida News-Press. It would seem that Deion's contract as a talking head and 'contributor' to the NFL (Network) is exclusive as it relates to football, and he was in violation of his NFL (Network) contract by publishing any football-related content as he has since January of this year.

Let's recap. In his original column, Deion wrote about Michael

... is he the ringleader? I just can’t see it.

Unfortunately for Deion though moreso for Michael, co-defendant Tony Taylor changed his plea on Monday from not guilty to guilty and turned federal witness against Michael then had this to say about his friend:

"The 'Bad Newz Kennels' operation and gambling monies were almost exclusively funded by Vick," a summary of facts supporting the plea agreement and signed by Taylor states.

Sounds ringleader-ey to me.

Deion's column got the NFL (Network)'s attention and they went hardline. NFL (Network) spokeshead Seth

Palansky said the NFL Network was not aware that Sanders was writing a newspaper column until one appeared July 22 under the headline, “Don’t be too quick to judge.” In that column, Sanders urged perspective regarding Vick.

Did you mean perspective like this Deion?

The reason this is turning into a three-ring circus is that baseball is boring, basketball is months away, football is around the corner and we in the media don’t have a thing interesting to write about.

LOL he actually said that (op. cit.)

Deion is currently appearing in a brief video intro of his column, which apparently continues, here. Ever the tireless marketer, Deion is trying to get out in front of the story, keep his column and therefore his equilibrium and just pivot away from football, maybe to fishing.

And props to the godless New York Times for getting the jibe in on Deion over the Tim McCarver dousing from so many years ago (op. cit.). That was a gutless thing to do and 15 years later you look real classy.


Image from here (converted from PNG to JPG by me).