Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders said after his Jackson State coaching debut on Sunday that his personal things were taken from the coaches’ office during the Tigers’ 53-0 triumph over NAIA program Edward Waters, driving him to have “mixed emotions” about the day.
“For one, the kids played really well,” an obviously upset Sanders said during his postgame news conference, prior to proceeding. “But while the game was going on, someone came in and stole every darn thing I have in the coaches’ office. Credit cards, wallet, watches. Thank god I had on my necklaces.”
Following Sanders’ news conference, the school revealed to ESPN that his things were “misplaced and found.”
However, Sanders questioned that the things were lost in a series of tweets later Sunday, saying that his partner walked in on a man during the time spent committing the theft.
Sanders proceeded to say that the things were recovered since being accounted for missing.
Later Sunday night, after Sanders tweeted, Jackson State athletic director Ashley Robinson gave an explanation that read, “Immediately following our win today, several items belonging to Coach Prime were taken from the locker room. Those items were quickly recovered and returned. While we consider this an isolated incident, we are thoroughly reviewing security protocols to ensure this does not happen again. However, we refuse to let this dampen the victory for our JSU Tigers, who have worked hard for this moment.”
Sanders, who additionally played Major League Baseball on top of being a two-time Super Bowl champion, is a first-time head football coach at the collegiate level. Beforehand, he was the offensive organizer at Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas, for three seasons.
Sanders reported on his podcast “21st and Prime” in September that he would be the next head coach at Jackson State. The Tigers’ game on Sunday was the first in a seven-game spring schedule that goes through April. It was likewise Jackson State’s first shutout since Sept. 6, 2014.
Jackson State next hosts Mississippi Valley State on Saturday, commencing the Southwest Athletic Conference season.
