ESPN (“Texas Wesleyan fires Mike Jeffcoat for rejecting recruit over Colorado pot laws“):
Texas Wesleyan has fired baseball coach Mike Jeffcoat for sending an email to a high school prospect saying the school doesn’t recruit players from Colorado because of failed drug tests.
Jeffcoat, a former Major League Baseball pitcher, was fired for “his remarks as well as the NAIA violations under his watch,” university president Fred Slabach told reporters Thursday.
“This university and its athletic program does not discriminate on the basis of the public policy of any state,” Slabach said. “We look at the individual student. We care about those students.”
Jeffcoat wrote an email to 18-year-old Gavin Bell, a senior at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, Colorado, thanking him for his interest in the program.
“Unfortunately, we are not recruiting players from the state of Colorado,” Jeffcoat’s email said. “In the past, players have had trouble passing our drug test. We have made a decision to not take a chance on student-athletes from your state. You can thank your liberal politicians. Best of luck wherever you decide to play.”
It’s a shame to end a 16-year coaching career over a stupid mistake, but this was certainly a doozy. The notion that every kid in the state of Colorado is going to test positive because it’s legal to smoke weed there is absurd. And, if that’s really your risk calculation, surely you can find a reason not to offer a kid a spot on the team for a reason that passes legal muster?
