Colorado Athletes Being Victimized by Marijuana Discrimination
Some Colorado athletes are being victimized by marijuana discrimination and it's crazy.
CBS News reports that Gavin Bell, a senior at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora was interested in playing baseball at Texas Wesleyan University but was flat out rejected because he is from Colorado.
Bell received an email from the Texas coach explaining they had decided to stop taking chances on student-athletes from Colorado because of the state's legalization of recreational pot.
Hi, Gavin,
Thanks for the interest in our program. Unfortunately, we are not recruiting players from 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. You can thank your liberal politicians. Best of luck wherever you decide to play.
Mike Jeffcoat
Head Baseball Coach
Texas Wesleyan University
It is crazy that an athlete would be stereotyped and discriminated against simply because he's from the state of Colorado and because of transgressions committed by some who came before him.
The assumption is that athletes from Colorado have a higher rate of marijuana use than athletes in other states where pot is not legal. This might be true, but do we know it to be fact? Even if it is true, doesn't each athlete deserve a chance to stand on his own merit and actions and to not be judged based on public perceptions, assumptions, and stereotypes?
It also should be pointed out, in reference to Coach Jeffcoat's email, that so-called liberal politicians are not the ones responsible for legalizing marijuana in Colorado. It's the majority of voters in Colorado that chose to legalize recreational pot.
As it turns out, the baseball coach has been fired by the university.
In recent years, we have seen a real battle against discrimination in this country whether it be based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, or other factors. Who would have ever thought the day would come when a group of people could face discrimination based on the state they come from?
[CBS News]