‘Was Written by AI’: Sports Illustrated Gets Ripped to Shreds for Naming 4-8 Coach Deion Sanders ‘Sportsperson of the Year’

Ahmad Austin Jr.Nov 30th, 2023, 12:44 pm
 
Deion Sanders

Rob Gray/AP

A rough week for Sports Illustrated got even worse Thursday when the publication named Colorado football coach Deion Sanders its 2023 Sportsperson of the Year despite the team finishing 4-8 this season.

The announcement came just days after the bombshell revelation that SI had been publishing AI-generated articles with bylines of authors that don’t exist. In response to the report, SI’s union released a statement denying the practice and demanding answers from The Arena Group, the publication’s parent company.

As one might expect, the internet was quick to let Sports Illustrated have it. Many joked that the decision to give Sanders the honor was also made by AI.

Traditionally, the Sportsperson of the Year is someone whose achievements were the talk of the sports world for that particular year. While Sanders’ first season at Colorado can be considered an improvement — the team won just a single game the previous season — it was hardly the kind of triumph one would expected win an honor on the level of SI’s annual award. The Buffaloes shocked the country with a 3-0 start before ultimately finished 4-8 and losing their last six games.

Other worthy candidates included LSU basketball star Angel Reese, whose national championship performance against Caitlin Clark-led Iowa helped the game become the most-watched ever for the women’s college hoops.

There’s also American tennis star Coco Gauff, whose U.S. Open win at just 19 years old cemented her place as the country’s next phenom following in the footsteps of the great Serena Williams.

Because Sports Illustrated went with Sanders, however, some have taken it as a sign the publication is falling from grace.

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