Following a statement, season-opening win over No. 17 TCU, Colorado coach Deion Sanders made sure to call out everyone who doubted him and his team in the media. And, as Sanders’s post-game comments went viral, longtime sports journalist Jeff Pearlman appeared to not take too kindly to Sanders’s words.

Pearlman, who has both covered and critiqued Sanders in the past, shared a pointed message to Coach Prime in defense of his colleagues Saturday night in response to him asking reporters, including ESPN’s Ed Werder, if they believed in CU after his debut victory.

“Didn’t realize we, the media, were supposed to be cheering for the teams we cover,” Pearlman wrote Saturday night in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Pearlman’s history with Sanders has been well-documented, with the reporter/author covering him extensively in his 2008 book about the 1990s Cowboys, Boys Will Be Boys, and calling him out over the years on various platforms.

Didn't realize we, the media, were supposed to be cheering for the teams we cover.

— Jeff Pearlman (@jeffpearlman) September 3, 2023

Considering how Saturday played out, it’s likely Pearlman and the rest of the media hasn’t heard the last from Sanders, who’s never been shy to speak his mind, about the receipts he kept of the doubters with the team looking to go 2–0 with a Sept. 9 win over Nebraska in their home opener.