The veteran ESPN reporter on the end of a brutal dressing down from Shedeur Sanders has broken his silence to give his side of the story.
Tony Grossi was confronted by the new Cleveland Browns quarterback in a now-viral tunnel moment after his debut, with his brother Deion Jr capturing the exchange for his YouTube channel.
In the conversation, Sanders called out Grossi for being negative about his ability, telling the reporter: ‘I ain’t hear nothing positive you’ve ever said.’
Now, Grossi has told his side of the story on his self-titled ESPN Cleveland show, admitting he was surprised by Sanders’ comments to him.
‘One thing to note was that I initiated the conversation,’ he began, by way of explanation. ‘He left the podium to walk to the locker room and I called his name to ask him another question. And that’s when he discussed what was on his mind.
‘I was a little surprised he went into that because as I said, it was inaudible but I said, “Hey, this is your night man. This is a big night for you, have fun.”
Shedeur Sanders was filmed calling out local journalist Tony Grossi for his negative coverage
‘But I appreciated the fact that he did not say what was on his mind from the podium, which other quarterbacks have done with me, which is very uncomfortable.’
Grossi then went on to admit he was unaware it was being filmed and would therefore be blown out of proportion.
‘I didn’t appreciate the fact that this interaction was filmed without my knowledge,’ he added. ‘It turns out, it was his brother, who is documenting everything from his rookie season.
‘That’s fine, just now that I’m aware of it, I’ll be a little more careful and everything. But everybody that saw the video, it was good-natured. I don’t know what caused us to laugh, I really can’t recall that conversation precisely. But we went on good terms.
‘We had a couple [of] other words in the locker room, too. But I was a little surprised that, on his big night, and it was a big night for him with all of the circumstances, that he would raise this. That’s why I thought he was joking.
‘It shouldn’t have been that big of a deal on his mind after his big night. Anyways, all is good. We saw each other today at practice, and we move on.’
The exchange occurred after the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, who coached Shedeur at Colorado in college football, finally got his first taste of NFL action on Friday night.
Sanders threw two touchdown passes as the Browns defeated the Carolina Panthers 30-10
The 23-year-old took his chance and completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdown passes as the Browns defeated the Carolina Panthers 30-10.
‘Tony, I be hoping you have something positive to say about me,’ Sanders told Grossi in the footage captured by Deion Sanders Jr.’s Well Off Media.
‘You only say negative stuff about me. And I’m like, “I ain’t do nothing to you”. I ain’t hear nothing positive you’ve ever said.’
Whatever Grossi said in response prompted a laugh and playful shoulder pat from the quarterback, who remained steadfast in his opinion of the negative coverage.
‘What I do to you, Tony?’ Sanders asks as he starts walking back to the locker room.
