Sports

Mary Kay Cabot Responds After Shilo Sanders Questioned Competence As A Female Reporter

#Cleveland Browns
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Scott Galvin-Imagn Images / Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports


Shilo Sanders landed in some hot water this week for comments made towards Cleveland Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot. Those remarks were deemed sexist by many viewers.

She’s since responded to the criticism publicly. She believes she’s inspired others to follow in her footsteps.

The back and forth centered around Cabot’s reporting on the Browns‘ current quarterback battle. She said the job was Deshaun Watson’s to lose.

Going a step further, she stated the opinion that Cleveland should make the announcement now to give Watson reps with the first team. It rubbed Shilo Sanders the wrong way.

Who is Mary Kay Cabot?

The Kent State graduate has been in reporting on the NFL for nearly four decades. She first began covering the league in 1988. She’s spent the majority of her time in Cleveland.

In 2025, she named the Bill Nunn Jr. Award winner by the Pro Football Writers of America. In doing so, she became just the second female to claim the honor.

She is thought of highly be her peers. She’s also been known to stir the pot.

Most recently, she made a dig at former Browns coach Bill Belichick, who led the team during her first season covering Cleveland.

That quip quickly landed a reply from Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.

Cabot has also spoken on the inability to make everyone happy at all times. It is the nature of the position. Every story won’t be positive. Every opinion can’t please all parties.

She earned a new enemy this offseason.

Shilo Sanders questioned Cabot’s competence.

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Mary Kay Cabot wrote the following on Cleveland.com when talking about the quarterback battle between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders:

“I think they should declare (Watson) QB1 and let the first team cook. There’s no time to waste.”

She said Watson has the inside track. He’s being paid a lot of money to lead the team. Sanders is still young. On the surface, it didn’t seem all that offensive.

There is a narrative forming, however, that she doesn’t want to see Sanders succeed in Cleveland. Past commentary has been cited. Whether there is any weight to the claims is up for debate.

Shilo Sanders did not appreciate the remark, which did not mention his brother by name. It implies the Browns should give up on Shedeur without giving him a fair shake. He replied in the comments section of an Instagram post on the subject.

“Go make a sandwich, Mary.”

He doubled down on that criticism in a subsequent video, questioning her abilities to do her job as a female reporter.

“If you’re gonna be a reporter, be a reporter and report facts,” he said. “When your opinion is always hateful to Shedeur, it makes it seem like an agenda.

“There’s plenty of women in this field that take this seriously… With you, it’s so much emotion. I don’t want you to make women look bad when it comes to reporting… We don’t care what you think is going to happen.”

Mary Kay Cabot has responded.

The reporter heard the insults. She seems to have shrugged them off.

“I know so many women who have joined the football world especially because of some of the things I’ve been able to do over the years. I’m happy about that.”

The beef has provided some drama to an otherwise uneventful spring season. The media outlook was something Shedeur Sanders also spoke on earlier this month.

He wants Cleveland’s reporters to have a more positive outlook. That’s been difficult given the team’s 8-26 record across the last two seasons.

He received negative attention this week after Cabot’s comments. We’ll see if he can change her mind before fall.