Shilo Sanders spouts off on Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot: 'Go make a sandwich'
· Yahoo Sports
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders previously has told his players to respect women and to address them as “miss” instead of their first names. But his middle son Shilo Sanders apparently didn’t exactly heed that advice on social media April 29, sparking a response from the female reporter whom he chided online, followed by Shilo saying the reporter had “so much emotion.”
The controversy highlights the challenges female sports reporters still face, even one as distinguished as Mary Kay Cabot, who started covering the Cleveland Browns as beat writer in 1991.
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In this case, Cabot reported Shilo’s younger brother Shedeur Sanders isn’t leading the competition to become the Browns’ starting quarterback. She reported Shedeur ranks behind high-priced veteran quarterback Deshaun Watson and then gave her opinion the team should declare Watson as the top quarterback as soon as possible so the Browns starting offense could “start to cook" together.
Shilo responded to that opinion of hers on Instagram April 29.
“Go make a sandwich Mary,” Shilo replied.
Mary Kay Cabot responds to Shilo Sanders' 'Go make a sandwich' remark
Shilo Sanders might have been trying to make a joke off of Cabot’s comment to let Watson “start to cook” with the Browns offense. But his comment also came off as sexist. “Make me a sandwich” is an old insult used to put down women, implying they belong in the kitchen.
Cabot was asked about it April 30 on 92.3 The Fan radio in Cleveland.
“Well, let me just say about that, that I really do believe that I have been an inspiration for lots of women and young girls to know that you can go out there and do a good job in a man’s world and take on all that comes with that,” Cabot replied.
She didn’t say anything about Shilo directly, taking the high road and saying she was happy to “open doors in that way” for women.
Shilo Sanders says female reporter has 'so much emotion'
Shilo didn’t leave it at that. He went on his Twitch channel April 30 and said, “This is to Mary Kay. If you’re gonna be a reporter, be a reporter and report facts.”
“Whenever you have your opinion and your opinion is always something hateful to Shedeur, then it makes it seem like it’s something weird, like it’s an agenda that you have going on,” Shilo said.
The Pro Football Writers Association honored Cabot last year as winner of the Bill Nunn Memorial Award in recognition of her “long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football.” She was honored for it at the Pro Football Hall of Fame and has been covering the Browns longer than Shilo, 26, has been alive.
Despite that, Shilo held her out as a different kind of example.
“There is plenty of women in this field that take this serious and take reporting on football serious and actually do homework, and study the game and get the statistics right and get the news right,” Shilo said on Twitch. “But with you, it’s so much emotion that I don’t want you to make women look bad when it comes to reporting because you don’t have the will to actually report real things that are going on.”
Shilo Sanders tells Mary Kay Cabot to 'just chill'
Shilo didn’t dispute the facts Cabot reported about the quarterback race but pointed out the Browns “don’t have all the receivers” in mini-camp at this point to help the quarterbacks look better. He instead appeared to be reacting emotionally to her opinion about how the Browns should name Watson the top quarterback soon instead of his brother, who was selected by the Browns last year in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.
“When it comes to your opinion, you’ve been saying crazy things for the past, since he’s been there,” Shilo said. “So it’s like, just chill with that, cause it don’t make no sense and it makes you look crazy like you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Shilo is out of football after finishing college football at Colorado last year. He since has been pursuing other interests, such as modeling and being an influencer on social media.
The radio hosts in Cleveland tried to make light of the situation by asking Cabot about her sandwich-making abilities.
“I can make a mean grilled cheese with ham,” Cabot said.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: [email protected]
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shilo Sanders faces backlash after 'sandwich' comment to reporter Mary Kay Cabot