Deion Sanders, head coach for the Jackson State University football team, is growing concerned over the city’s water shortage.
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Jackson, Mississippi has been dealing with a water shortage since last week. The crisis has left roughly 150,000 residents without access to clean water, including the Jackson State University football team. Due to the shortage, players are moving into hotels in order to continue preparing for the upcoming season.
“We’re hit with a little crisis,” JSU coach Deion Sanders, a former NFL player and Hall of Famer, shared in a statement posted on social media. “The city of Jackson, we don’t have water. Water means we don’t have air conditioning. We can’t use toilets. We don’t have water. We don’t have ice.”
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba issued a Water System Emergency Order following prolonged issues with the city’s watering system. last month, residents were told to begin boiling their water due to quality concerns. On top of this, water pressure and flooding have affected flowage to the treatment plant, limiting citizens’ access to water.
As the issue continues, residents will not have the ability to comfortably use water; Lumumba outlines this issue as an inability to “reliably flush toilets, fight fires, and meet other critical needs.”
Since the lack of reliable water has also affected the football players, Sanders is personally funding his players to stay at hotels so they can use running water. “So right now, we’re operating in crisis mode. I’ve got to get these kids off campus,” he said. “The ones that live on campus, the ones that live in the city of Jackson into a hotel, and accommodate them so they can shower properly and take care of their needs.”
Deion Sanders expresses thanks to those who have donated to provide clean water for his players
Alongside Sanders providing temporary housing for his players, Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons invited JSU players to stay in the city, the housing being provided by business leaders in the community. Additionally, Simmons was willing to donate a field for Jackson State to practice on while the team prepares for their upcoming game on Sunday against Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Miami.
Since countless organizations have lent their support to JSU, Sanders expressed gratitude to those who have been kind enough to donate to his team’s organization. “Love, thank you, and appreciate you to everyone that’s flooded us with messages, that desires to give us donations, that just want to ride with us,” he relayed on Twitter. “You have no idea what that means to us. You are unbelievable.”
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