On3 CEO Shannon Terry is the latest to accuse Alabama football coach Nick Saban of being disrespectful to the local media.
Terry, who founded major networks Rivals, 247Sports and now On3, said the following in a now-deleted post on X.
“Going to take some bullets for this one, but it needs to be said. I have tremendous respect for coach Saban as a coach and CEO. He is the greatest college coach and college coach CEO in history. But the way, he treats the local sports media is disrespectful and uncivil.
“If he treated (ESPN's Kirk) Herbsteit similarly, would have no problem with the way he treats the local team. But he doesn't! The press group in Alabama needs to start punching back. They deserve the same respect as the Herbstreits, (ESPN's Chris) [Low], (ESPN's Pete) [Thamel], etc.”
Terry later backed up his prediction that No. 11 Texas will beat No. 4 Alabama on the road when the two teams face Sept. 9.
SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum previously said Saban displayed “petulance and indecision,” in addition to bullying local media, by refusing to release a depth chart ahead of Alabama football's first game against Middle Tennessee this past weekend.
“What I don't like – and everybody in Alabama gets mad – is the bullying of the media,” Finebaum said. “Don't bully people because you can. Saban has made a career of bullying people who are weaker than him… It's not a good look.”
FOX Sports commentator Tim Brando provided a similar take in a post on X.
“Nick Saban's not delivering a Depth Chart is beneath him, despite likely giving the guys calling the game some semblance of lineups,” Brando said. “He should be above that but clearly these days he's not in the best of moods…”