It appears one of the top returning wideouts at Baylor has caught a significant break, so to speak.
According to the Waco Tribune, the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office has decided it will not pursue misdemeanor marijuana possession charges against wide receiver Robbie Rhodes. The true sophomore was arrested early last month on charges of possession of marijuana and tampering with physical evidence.
Thanks to the BU athletic department’s drug-testing policy, the player’s attorney was able to convince the prosecutor that his client was innocent. From the Tribune:Waco attorney Jonathan Sibley said Baylor has been drug-testing Rhodes for about seven months and he never tested positive for drug use.
Sibley said he showed those test results to the DA’s office, including a test administered two days before Rhodes was arrested, and convinced them he was not guilty. Rhodes also tested negative after his arrest, Sibley said.
“Robbie didn’t have anything to do with it,” Sibley said. “Baylor runs a clean program, and it helps that they have been testing Robbie because that helped us present evidence to the district attorney to convince them that he had no connection to this drug activity that they accused him of and arrested him for.”
“I think when [the DA’s office thinks] that somebody has done something wrong, they are aggressive in prosecuting that individual. In this case, they were willing to look at the evidence we provided to them and they made the right decision in not charging him with the drug activity.”
Rhodes was a four-star member of BU’s 2013 recruiting class, rated as the No. 8 wide receiver in the country and the No. 8 player in the talent-rich state of Texas at any position. As a true freshman last season, Rhodes caught 10 passes for 157 yards.
With the legal path now cleared, Rhodes is expected to be a significant contributor to Baylor’s high-octane offense in 2014.
(Photo credit: Baylor athletics)