Female Browns Reporter Faces Backlash For Allegedly Disrespecting Shedeur Sanders' Graduation

Credits: Imago ©Manish Kalsi

It’s starting to feel like a constant back-and-forth. It was only recently when some of Shedeur Sanders’ supporters had accused Mary Kay Cabot of being biased, even claiming she has a “hateful agenda” against him. They had taken issue with her reporting that Deshaun Watson has the inside track to the starting job, arguing it feels more like opinion than straight reporting. And now, she’s facing fresh criticism again, this time over how she covered Sanders’ graduation.

“#Browns QB Shedeur Sanders returns to Colorado Saturday to receive his diploma,” Cabot reported on X, linking to Cleveland.com’s detailed article on the same. That was all it took for things to spiral. A heavy wave of criticism quickly followed when Sanders’ fans zeroed in on one tiny detail – Cabot referring to it as a diploma instead of a degree. “Blatant disrespect, calling it a diploma. College is a degree,” was one of many similar reactions that flooded Cabot’s comment section. It probably wouldn’t have drawn this much scrutiny if Cabot hadn’t just recently gone back and forth with Shilo Sanders following his viral “sandwich” comment.

As for Sheduer Sanders, he really didn’t have to go back and complete that degree. He’s already in the league, already building his career. So the fact that he chose to wrap it up anyway says a lot. It’s one of those quiet decisions that speaks louder than it looks. Just as the news of his graduation broke, FOX News’ Matt Reigle raised a very interesting question.

“This did get me wondering, though: Is he the first player in history to get his number retired and then graduate? He might be.” That really is a pretty rare combo. He might just be the first. The Browns QB took a big moment to celebrate on Saturday, walking the stage at Colorado and earning his degree in sociology. He even shared a video of himself alongside fellow students. “What’s up? We’re at graduation,” Shedeur Sanders said. “It’s called excellence, man. It’s excellence.”

Sanders even paid tribute to his father, Deion Sanders, by recreating one of his most iconic moments. Instead of a football uniform laid out in a locker room like before Super Bowl XXIX, Shedeur swapped it out for something more personal, his cap and gown, neatly set out ahead of graduation.