The city of Jackson, Miss., is experiencing a severe shortage of clean water. Most of the city's 180,000 residents have no access to it after a series of storms exacerbated long-standing water treatment issues.
The situation is becoming increasingly dire, and that is having a significant impact on one of the sports teams that calls Jackson home: Deion Sanders' Jackson State Tigers.
Sanders posted a video on his Instagram outlining the issues he and his team are facing. Sanders said that at Jackson State's facility, players are unable to shower, use the bathroom or participate in ice-bath recovery. The air conditioning is not working, either.
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"We've been hit with a little crisis in the city of Jackson," Sanders said, and added that the problems at the facility "places a burden on the program."
"So right now we're operating in crisis mode," Sanders said.
Where will Jackson State train amid the water shortage?
With the team scheduled to host Florida A&M on Sunday, Sept. 4, Jackson State is planning to move players to a hotel. The program is also working to find an alternate practice facility for the next few days.
"I got to get these kids off campus . . . into a hotel and accommodate them so that they can shower properly and take care of their needs, make sure all our kids are fed and all our kids have the necessities of life for the next several days until this crisis subsides," Sanders said. "That's where we're operating in right now."
The crisis comes less than a month after upgrades to the football facility — which received a $150,000 contribution from Sanders himself — were completed.
Will Jackson State play as scheduled on Sunday?
It remains to be seen whether the crisis will force Jackson State to relocate or postpone the Orange Blossom Classic game vs. Florida A&M. The Southwestern Athletic Conference has not commented publicly on Jackson State's situation.
Sanders promised that the team would overcome the disruption regardless.
"We're going to find somewhere to practice, find somewhere that can accommodate every darn thing that we need and desire to be who we desire to be, and that's dominate," Sanders said. "The devil is a lie. He ain't going to get us today, baby."
