Deion Sanders won his college coaching debut on Sunday when Jackson State defeated Edward Waters 53-0 at NAIA level. But the game was quickly overshadowed by confusion over whether Sanders was stolen during the game, and it turned out that he was not, although he was convinced otherwise immediately after the game.
Sanders told reporters at his press conference after the game about someone he believed had stolen his belongings from the coach’s office during the game, claiming that his credit card, wallet, watches and phone were taken. He used the incident to illustrate how “when I talk about quality and raising standards, it goes for everyone, man, not just for people in the field, not just for coaches, not just for teachers, not just for the body teacher. everyone. Security and everyone. “
News of the allegation spread quickly, and Sanders said it was the second time that he had been mugged since taking over as FCS in Jackson, Mississippi. However, an hour after Sanders’ long-winded speech on the subject, Jackson State officials said Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated that your belongings were not stolen and were only lost after they were removed into custody. Noah Newman of WJTV in Jackson reported that all of Sanders’s stuff was found in his closet / office.
The bizarre incident crowned the beginning of what appears to be a fascinating mandate for Sanders at HBCU, which competes in the FCS-level SWAC. The FCS season changed for the spring of this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Tigers are scheduled to play seven games in the regular season. Sanders, who drew attention to the Jackson State program with his former NFL and MLB superstar status, will need to put Sunday’s misunderstanding behind quickly. The Tigers are due to host rival Mississippi Valley State on Saturday, and it must be a much tougher game than Sunday’s trick against a defeated opponent from one of the sport’s lowest categories.
“How do you think you feel?” Sanders said before the incident was resolved. “I came back after just crying because the guys presented me with the game ball. One of the best moments I have ever had in my professional sports career, emotionally. Then you go to your locker room and your coach’s office … and you realize that you don’t even have a phone to call your mother, to call your girl, to call your children because it was stolen. “
Sanders finally said “let’s get this out” and started talking about the game. But before that, he made it clear that “let’s find out who did this”. Iff Sanders wanted more attention early in his reconstruction work at Jackson State, Sunday’s bizarre post-game turmoil certainly brought some, and he left the incident with some element of mystery still around him by posting the following on Twitter the night of Sunday.