Sanders says NCAA or Rose Bowl should reimburse Colorado players for missing items from locker room

Updated Oct. 31, 2023 3:44 p.m. ET

Associated Press

Deion Sanders wants someone to reimburse his team for the items that went missing from the Colorado locker room while the Buffaloes played No. 20 UCLA at the Rose Bowl over the weekend.

His suggestion? The NCAA. Maybe the Rose Bowl, too.

“That don’t make no sense when you’re out there balling and playing your heart out and you’re getting robbed in the same aspect,” the coach said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “So I hope we could do something about that, NCAA. ... When it comes to kids, in regards to the kids, NCAA, you do something about everything else — do something about this one.”

The police in Pasadena, California, continue to conduct interviews, review video and assess what items were reported missing. Sanders is helping in that regard, too, by compiling a list of what was lost by players and staff members.

“All that stuff should be replaced. This is the Rose Bowl. This is the ‘The Granddaddy of Them All,’ right?” Sanders said. “I’m sure your granddaddy had some money. Grandpa should have some money to give his kids. ... They may not be able to get the items back. But we should be able to reimburse them. That was unbelievable.”

The production crew of “ Well Off Media,” which chronicles Sanders and the Buffaloes, posted a video Monday on YouTube titled, “Colorado Loses to UCLA: Thieves at Rose Bowl Steal From Colorado’s Locker Room.” In the video, players gathered around the bus after a 28-16 loss to the Bruins on Saturday night and discussed items including jewelry being taken from inside the locker room.

One person lost a chain he recently purchased. He said in the video: "I just got mine, bro. I had the jewelry box and everything. They took it out of my jewelry box.”

On the social platform X, the site formerly known as Twitter, Colorado safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig posted in all caps: “In locker room you would think your stuff safe man its crazy.”

Darius Sanders, who also documents the Buffaloes, posted a video Monday from Folsom Field, where he said coaches and support staff also discovered items went missing. He said he had money taken from his bag.

Outside linebacker Jordan Domineck said on social media he was taking a “forgive and forget” approach after he reported his chain was missing.

“To whoever snuck into the locker room and stole my chain, as well as my teammates chains, I forgive you and wish you nothing but the best," Domineck wrote on social media. "Hopefully you turn your life around with whatever you get for mine, and you learn from this. It’s all love.”

Asked if he had anything taken, Deion Sanders responded: “I’ve been gotten enough.” Sanders reportedly had some personal items taken out of his office while he was the head coach at Jackson State.

Sanders said the team is looking into possibly bringing in its own security to protect the locker room.

“Who robs the Rose Bowl? Somebody,” Sanders said. "A lot of the things were emotional things that were given to them, like chains and necklaces and gifts. You've got some idiots online saying, ‘They shouldn’t have that.’ So they shouldn’t be blessed? That's crazy. It’s like if you have a car in your driveway and somebody comes and steals your car, 'Well, you shouldn’t have a car.’ That’s how stupid that sounds.

“These are young men that worked their butts off or they were blessed and gifted by their family members to give them whatever was stolen.”

The Buffaloes have fallen to 4-4 after starting with three straight wins in Deion Sanders’ first season in charge. He has instantly raised the profile at Colorado. The game against the Bruins was the fifth on network television, which is the most in Colorado history for a season. The Buffaloes have played in front of a capacity crowd in all eight games this season.

Sanders reshaped Colorado through the transfer portal after the program went 1-11 last season.

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Associated Press Writer John Antczak in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football