Fired Coach's Attorney: He Had Baseball Agenda, Not Political Agenda
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A day after being fired over a controversial email he sent a recruit, former Texas Wesleyan University head baseball coach Mike Jeffcoat is getting some help explaining what happened through his attorney, Coby Wooten.
On Wednesday, February 28, an email Jeffcoat sent a recruit from Colorado became public.
In the email to Gavin Bell, Jeffcoat explained why he would not recruit the young man, including, "You can thank your liberal politicians."
The email in its entirety read:
"Thanks for the interest in our program. 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 not to take a chance on Student-athletes from your state. You can thank your liberal politicians. Best of luck wherever you decide to play."
On Thursday, TWU President Fred Slabach announced Jeffcoat was fired and said, "I want to reiterate today that the comments Mike Jeffcoat made are in no way a reflection of our university or it's values... 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."
Friday, Jeffcoat's attorney, Coby Wooten released a statement explaining, Jeffcoat was frustrated losing good baseball players to failed drug tests and he made a political comment out of that frustration.
Wooten said the reality is Jeffcoat was exercising his right to free speech and his firing was "reactionary," and done "out of fear."
"The University could have generated a public discussion about the role of marijuana and marijuana legislation in today's sports," said Wooten.
Here is Wooten's entire statement.
Mike Jeffcoat is, at his core, a baseball coach. He has eaten, breathed and slept baseball since he was five years old playing t-ball. From his time as a pitcher for the Texas Rangers through his 17 years of building a baseball team for Texas Wesleyan University, he has thought about little else, resulting in a long history of success as a player and college coach.
Mr. Jeffcoat does not have a political agenda. He has a baseball agenda. As a coach, he was extremely frustrated by having lost good players to failed drug tests. In his frustration, he made a political comment in an email.
We all make and hear political comments on a daily basis—at work, in the classroom, in public forums, in private conversations. Some of it we agree with. Some of it we don't. But in this country, it's free speech. Free speech is protected by the First Amendment. The First Amendment doesn't require the speech to be "politically correct" or life affirming for the recipient. "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they don't want to hear" (George Orwell).
The reactionary firing of Mr. Jeffcoat by Texas Wesleyan University was done out of fear, which is a terrible reason to take away someone's career. Mr. Jeffcoat was a dedicated and loyal employee for the University for over 17 years and was summarily fired because the University has no tolerance for mild political commentary.
Instead of firing Mr. Jeffcoat, the University could have allowed him to explain his frustration in attempting to recruit good players from states where marijuana is legal, yet disqualifying players with marijuana in their drug screens (which violates the University's student athlete drug policy).
The University could have generated a public discussion about the role of marijuana and marijuana legislation in today's sports. The University could have taken a leadership role and acknowledged that there is room for a wide variety of opinions on the subject—some aligned with Mr. Jeffcoat and some in opposition. That is what we call a healthy debate. There is a vast difference between "discrimination" (where the law says you can't treat people differently based on race, national origin, age, gender, religion or disability) and political commentary. When our universities set out to silence political commentary, we, as a nation, are in trouble.
