Deion Sanders' Mom Is A First Amendment Hero

The amazing thing about this isn't that cops stupidly slapped handcuffs on a sportswriter apparently for the crime of doing his job in casual wear. The amazing thing is that he was arrested because he tried to interview Deion Sanders.

Deion, of course, is a walking billboard for himself and a man not particularly known for being publicity-shy. Nonetheless, some cops working a youth-football detail in Naples, Fla., apparently felt Prime Time needed to be protected from an undercredentialed and underdressed fellow named David Dorsey, who claimed to be a reporter for the Naples Fort Myers News-Press. Which is exactly what he is. Chaos briefly ensued, and we can only thank the stars that Deion's mom was around to sort everything out.

Here's the newspaper's account:

Around 1:30 p.m., Razilou and Officer Benjamin Vasquez were working security for the event when they were approached by a member of Sanders' staff who pointed out a man in a yellow shirt, dark shorts and a baseball cap who had attempted to enter the field three times to speak to Sanders. The staff member said he didn't know who the man was.

When the officers approached Dorsey, he identified himself with his driver license.

Dorsey said he worked for the News-Press and was there to speak with Sanders.

When the officers asked for additional identification, Dorsey said "let me see your ID."

He then handed over an electronic door-access card that said "Information Technology" on the front and "News-Press" on the back. The card didn't have his name.

The officers told Dorsey he wasn't allowed on the field, but he attempted to gain access again.

After the game, Dorsey pushed through the crowd and walked through the gate in Sanders' direction. When the officers attempted to handcuff Dorsey, he pulled away and struggled with them.

The officers removed Dorsey from the field in handcuffs. They released him only after Sanders' mother said he was allowed to be there.

The staff member who initially pointed Dorsey out to the officers cried when informed of the miscommunication.

Picture the scene: a lone reporter; a squadron of jack-booted thugs; a weeping factotum; an American flag overhead, snapping crisply in the Gulf Stream breezes (just guessing here); and, in the bleachers, Deion Sanders' mother, rising in righteous indignation to protect the Constitution the way her son used to patrol a defensive backfield, saying, "Enough!" It's like a Norman Rockwell painting, in neon.

Reporter handcuffed, News-Press threatens to sue Naples [Naples Daily News]