Baseball coach fired after calling out 'liberal politicians' in Colorado
A baseball coach at a small college in Texas was just fired because of making “discriminatory remarks” while rejecting a possible recruit.
Texas Wesleyan University baseball coach Mike Jeffcoat was relieved of his duties Thursday, shortly after his comments first came to light.
“Mike Jeffcoat is no longer an employee with Texas Wesleyan University. He was separated from the University due to the discriminatory remarks contained in an email to a potential recruit from the state of Colorado and for another factor that we have been investigating for the last week,” school president Fred Slabach said at a news conference, per KTVT.
Slabach refused to offer much in the way details of what the other alleged “factor” was in Jeffcoat’s termination.
“This additional factor is an NAIA rule violation that has recently came to our attention,” Slabach added.
Jeffcoat first came under fire when a rejection email he sent a high school prospect slammed “liberal politicians” and was leaked to the public.
“Thanks for the interest in our program,” Jeffcoat wrote in the email. “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 seemed to be alluding to the fact that Colorado had legalized recreational marijuana in 2012.
Had Jeffcoat stopped there, he may have gotten away with little more than a slap on the wrist. Unfortunately for him, Jeffcoat proceeded to politicize the rejection by letting the high school player know exactly who he had to blame.
“You can thank your liberal politicians. Best of luck wherever you decide to play,” Jeffcoat said.
Slabach hammered home that Jeffcoat’s comments are not a reflection of Texas Wesleyan.
“I want to reiterate today that the comments Mike Jeffcoat made are in no way a reflection of our university or it’s values,” Slabach said during the news conference. “We do not tolerate discrimination. We value inclusiveness. We value education, critical thinking and supporting student athletes who are here for the love of the game.”
While Jeffcoat’s comments may not have been conveyed in the best way, it is ironic that a school touting “inclusiveness” and “critical thinking” were so quick to jump the gun against apparently conservative viewpoints. Frankly, the only person Jeffcoat was really hurting was himself by willingly eliminating an entire pipeline of potential talent in Colorado.
Of note, the high school player in question allegedly has a spotless record. His ex-coach Allan Dyer vouched for him.
“(The rejection) just made no sense. The student has not been in trouble one time at our school,” Dyer claimed.
Texas Wesleyan has now fired the most successful baseball coach in the school’s history. Jeffcoat went a sterling 529-358-1 record after being hired in 2002, which is the most wins in school history. He also has eight NAIA National Championship Opening Round tournament appearances.
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