College coach under fire for rejecting recruit - 'Thank your liberal politicians'
Texas Wesleyan University baseball coach Mike Jeffcoat has been getting criticized after his handling of a potential high school recruit from Colorado.
Jeffcoat, who spent a solid decade in MLB as a pitcher, has been coach of the Texas Wesleyan Rams baseball team since 2002. Recently, Jeffcoat has been noticing a consistent problem with prospective recruits from the state of Colorado.
Namely, Jeffcoat feels that, from personal experience, recruits from Colorado can’t pass drug tests.
In all likelihood, Jeffcoat is referring to marijuana, which Colorado legalized for recreational use in 2012.
Had Jeffcoat simply felt that resources were being wasted on recruits who couldn’t stay off drugs, he probably wouldn’t have come under fire.
But Jeffcoat politicized his decision, promptly drawing criticism for doing so.
“Thanks for the interest in our program,” Jeffcoat wrote in an email obtained the Houston Chronicle. “Unfortunately, we are not recruiting players from the state of Colorado. 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.”
Jeffcoat’s email to the high school prospect let him know exactly who to blame for Texas Wesleyan passing on him — and it’s not the baseball recruits who have failed drug tests before him.
“You can thank your liberal politicians. Best of luck wherever you decide to play,” Jeffcoat said.
John Veilleux, vice president for marketing and communications for Texas Wesleyan, confirmed the veracity of the email and tried to separate the school from Jeffcoat’s comments.
“The comments he made are in no way a reflection of Texas Wesleyan University, its values or its recruiting practices,” Veilleux told the Chronicle. “This is a personnel matter and it is currently under investigation. We follow due process here. It is our university policy to not discuss personnel matters.”
The school also released a statement online.
Texas Wesleyan does not condone discrimination. Read our response here: https://t.co/gDLDyQupjO
— Texas Wesleyan (@TexasWesleyan) February 28, 2018
Jeffcoat’s comments drew criticism from numerous people, including the high school player’s former baseball coach, Allan Dyer.
“I’ve never seen a coach send an email like that to a kid. I was kind of shocked a coach would connect a political issue to a kid,” Dyer told the Chronicle.
He also vouched for the character of the high school player: “It just made no sense. The student has not been in trouble one time at our school.”
Since being hired in 2002, Jeffcoat has been Texas Wesleyan’s all-time leader in wins with a 529-358-1 record. He has also helped lead the school to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round tournament eight times.
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