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Harry Lyles Jr., ESPN Staff Writer 3y

Deion Sanders says personal items were stolen from office during Jackson State coaching debut, later recovered

College Football, NFL, Jackson State Tigers

Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders said after his Jackson State coaching debut on Sunday that his personal items were stolen from the coaches' office during the Tigers' 53-0 victory over NAIA program Edward Waters, leading him to have "mixed emotions" about the day.

"For one, the kids played really well," a visibly upset Sanders said during his postgame news conference, before continuing. "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 told ESPN that his items were "misplaced and found."

But Sanders disputed that the items were misplaced 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. 

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."

Sanders, who also 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. Previously, he was the offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas, for three seasons.

Sanders announced 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 runs through April. It was also Jackson State's first shutout since Sept. 6, 2014.

Jackson State next hosts Mississippi Valley State on Saturday, kicking off the Southwest Athletic Conference season.

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