Was he robbed or not robbed? Debut for Jackson State head coach takes bizarre turn
Published 5:45 am Monday, February 22, 2021
Was he robbed or wasn’t he robbed?
The first victory for Pro Football Hall of Famer and new Jackson State head football coach Deion Sanders took a bizarre turn Sunday when the coach announced that personal items were stolen from his office, only to have school officials say the incident was a misunderstanding.
Sanders insists there was no misunderstanding – he was clearly robbed.
Sanders made the announcement during a postgame news conference. Following the news conference, school officials said Sanders items were “misplaced and found.”
Whomever putting out the lie that my belongings wasn’t stolen is LYING. My belongings were taken out of a zipped bag in my office and more items were taken as well from my office. We have retrieved them since being reported. My Staff member witnessed the crime. #Truth
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) February 22, 2021
The back and forth confusion between Sanders and the school made for a chaotic ending to the Tigers’ 53-0 victory over NAIA program Edward Waters.
“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,” Sanders said.
After school officials said the items were only misplaced, Sanders disputed the school’s explanation in a series of tweets later Sunday, saying that his assistant walked in on a man in the process of committing the theft. Sanders went on to say that the items were retrieved since being reported missing.
Lies. It was stolen because a staff member walked in on the theft being committed but she couldn’t fight a dude off. https://t.co/SByAPPPH1H
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) February 22, 2021
Later Sunday evening, after Sanders tweeted, Jackson State athletic director Ashley Robinson issued a statement 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.”
Jackson State next hosts Mississippi Valley State on Saturday, kicking off the Southwest Athletic Conference season.
Whomever putting out the lie that my belongings wasn’t stolen is LYING. My belongings were taken out of a zipped bag in my office and more items were taken as well from my office. We have retrieved them since being reported. My Staff member witnessed the crime. #Truth
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) February 22, 2021