Texas Wesleyan baseball coach denies Colorado recruit over state's pot laws

A Texas university baseball coach rejected a potential Colorado recruit last week because of the state’s marijuana laws. (AP)

A Texas university baseball coach reportedly rejected a potential recruit from Colorado last week because of the state’s marijuana laws.

Texas Wesleyan coach Mike Jeffcoat told Gavin Bell, a high school athlete playing at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, Colo., in an email that he no longer recruits athletes from Colorado because of the difficulties they face passing drug tests, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday.

“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,” the email said, according to the Chronicle. "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.”

John Veilleux, the school’s vice president for marketing and communication, told the Houston Chronicle that the university was aware of the email’s existence.

"We have made a decision to not take a chance on Student-athletes from your state. You can thank your liberal politicians."

— Mike Jeffcoat

“This is a personnel matter and it is currently under investigation,” he told the paper. “We follow due process here. It is our university policy to not discuss personnel matters.”

Jeffcoat has coached at the Fort Worth university since 2002 and is the program’s all-time wins leader with 529. He also played 10 years in the major leagues.