Subscribe
NewsOne Featured Video
CLOSE
JSU Spring Game

Source: Jackson State University / Getty

Jackson State University’s head football coach Deion Sanders is trying to find a place for his players to take a shower, because there is no water in Jackson, Mississippi. 

Access to water is something we all take for granted. But when that access is no longer available, devastation quickly rears its ugly head.  Jackson, Mississippi has no water. Residents in the city can’t turn on their faucets, brush their teeth, take a shower, or even flush the toilet. 

The water problem, which has plagued Jackson for years, compounded itself this past summer as flooding from the Pearl River damaged a water treatment facility, then heavy rains affected treatment processes. 

Now more than 180,000 people in the city have to find a way to manage and survive in the middle of the summer with no access to running water. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency on Monday but said it’s been difficult getting water to folks who need it.

“Replacing our largest city’s infrastructure of water with human distribution is a massively complicated logistical task,” Reeves told CNN. 

All week Jackson residents have been waiting in lines for over two hours just to get a case of 24 12-ounce bottles of water.  Coach Deion Sanders said Jackson State University’s football program was in “crisis mode.”

Sanders took to his Instagram page on Tuesday to address some of his concerns with the situation in Jackson and how it has affected his program. In the caption he wrote:

“The Devil is a Lie! This ain’t nothing but a moment of discomfort and we will be alright. Jackson we’ve overcome a lot more than this baby. #CoachPrime”

“Water means we don’t have air conditioning. Can’t use toilets,” Coach Deion Sanders said on Instagram. “We don’t have water, therefore we don’t have ice, which pretty much places a burden on the program. So right now we’re operating in crisis mode.”

Sanders also said that he’s trying to find accommodations for his players as well as a place they can practice.

“I gotta get these kids off campus — the ones that live on campus, the ones that live in the city of Jackson — into a hotel and accommodate them so that they can shower properly and take care of their needs,” said Sanders.

According to Mississippi Today, state health officials have urged Jackson residents to conserve their water resources and to boil their water for three minutes before using it to drink, brush teeth, or cook.

SEE ALSO:

‘I Shot That N***** 119 Times’: Mississippi Police Chief Fired After Racist Recording Leaks

Mississippi Cop Cleared Of All Wrongdoing After Video Showed Brutal Arrest Of Handcuffed Black Driver

The Makings Of Black Mamba: Kobe Bryant Through The Years
Los Angeles Lakers v Phoenix Suns
34 photos