Cody Reed's prep career could be over after a school administrator claimed to smell marijuana on his jacket.
By JOHN C. COTEY
Published April 29, 2004
SEMINOLE - Cody Reed, a University of Florida signee and Seminole's top pitcher, may have pitched his last game for the Warhawks.
The 6-0, 175-pound righthander was suspended from school for 10 days Tuesday and transferred to an alternative education center in St. Petersburg, according to his father. Jerry Reed said it was because a school administrator claimed to smell marijuana on Reed's jacket.
Seminole principal Rick Misenti and athletic director Craig Thompson could not be reached for comment Wednesday, and county athletic director Walter Weller said he was unfamiliar with the case.
Seminole baseball coach Scott Miller confirmed Reed was no longer on the team, but wouldn't comment any further.
Jerry Reed said the case against his son was "so much garbage I can't even see straight."
He said his son was stopped in the hall about 11 a.m. by an administrator, whom he declined to name, because of a smell apparently emanating from Cody's jacket.
According to Jerry Reed, school officials searched his son and found no marijuana.
"It was alleged there was a smell on an article of clothing, but no smell on any part of his body, his hands, his hair or his face," said Reed, a former major leaguer with Philadelphia, Cleveland and Seattle.
Reed said he arrived at the school at 12:15, and he smelled nothing on the jacket even though his son was kept for an hour in a window-less room. He said a school resource officer told him he thought the jacket smelled like cigarettes.
"This is all based on a smell," Jerry Reed said. "It's just really strange. If it hadn't been so serious, it was almost like a comedy routine: "Well, the jacket smelled but there's suspicion there, but his person doesn't smell, and we haven't found anything, but ... ' "
The family has since sealed the jacket in a plastic bag, and even called the sheriff's office to inquire about the possibility of running tests to confirm the school administrator's claim.
The Reeds have hired St. Petersburg lawyer Murray Silverstein and are appealing the suspension. Papers were hand-delivered to the School Board and Misenti on Wednesday to request a hearing to overturn the suspension. If that is denied, Jerry Reed says his attorney will ask for an emergency court hearing.
If the suspension stands, Reed's prep career is over, and his scholarship to Florida would be in peril. He is expected to report to Gainesville June 28 for the Gators' summer program, but would be unable to do so without his diploma.
Cody Reed has struggled in school, but Jerry says he has qualified for UF and was on schedule to graduate.
"This absolutely jeopardizes his scholarship," Jerry Reed said. "Cody's not an angel by any stretch of the imagination, but there's no evidence whatsoever.
"Usually, they have to prove you're guilty. But they want Cody to prove he's innocent."
Florida coach Pat McMahon wouldn't comment on Reed's scholarship, only saying "young men make decisions and must be held accountable for decisions. We expect an awful lot on and off the field from our guys."
Reed is 5-2 this season, and his 0.86 ERA is second in the county. He also has 72 strikeouts, which is third.
