Every college in America has a set of rules that it expects its students to abide by.
The University of Oregon, for example, has a “Code of Conduct” that students agree to follow by virtue of enrolling here. According to the University website, examples of student code violations include: “Those under the age of 21 may not possess, consume, or furnish alcohol to those under 21;” “Selling or distributing an illegal drug or legal drug without a prescription,” and “Unreasonable insults, gestures, or abusive words directed to another person that may reasonably cause emotional distress,” among others.
Many other colleges around the country have similar guidelines.
BYU, on the other hand, does not. It’s a very, very different beast.
Guidelines in BYU’s code include: “Live a chaste and virtuous life;” “Obey the law and all campus policies;” “Use clean language;” “Respect others” and “Abstain from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, and substance abuse.”
Earlier this week, news spread of key BYU post player Brandon Davies being dismissed from the team for a violation of the code. In the 29 games he played this season, the 6-foot-9 Davies averaged 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
A player getting kicked off the team for breaking rules isn’t exactly earth shattering. It happens all the time — for law violations, team rules violations and academic violations.
But at BYU, an honor code violation can be just about anything. So, the jokes began. “Was Davies really kicked off the team for drinking a venti coffee at Starbucks?” “Would a tall coffee have resulted in a shorter suspension?”
As it turned out, Davies wasn’t kicked off the team for a coffee violation. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Davies was booted for engaging in pre-marital sexual activities with his girlfriend, something that is a regular occurrence at nearly every other school in the country.
At the time of Davies’ suspension, the Cougars were 27-2 and ranked No. 3 in the country, having just defeated fellow top-10 power San Diego State. With Jimmer Fredette, arguably the front-runner for National Player of the Year, on board, BYU was projected to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN’s expert Joe Lunardi.
However, on Wednesday, hopes of a No. 1 seed slipped away when the Cougars were crushed at home by New Mexico 82-64. It’s not yet clear how vital Davies is to BYU’s success — that will become apparent in the season’s final games — but the 18-point loss to an underdog team could be a pretty strong indication. Further, mid-major conferences like the Mountain West Conference traditionally lack depth, particularly at the post. (The Cougars, for example, only have one player 6-foot-10 or taller on the roster.)
If Davies proves to be as important to the Cougars as their loss to New Mexico indicates, BYU could be sacrificing a possible Final Four appearance, hundreds of thousands of dollars for its conference and invaluable national exposure.
In the same week in which a Sports Illustrated feature on crime in college football (seven percent of players have criminal backgrounds) and rumors of a major recruiting investigation at a top college (whispered to be Oregon) persist, it’s refreshing to see a school stand up for its beliefs, even if those beliefs have lasting repercussions.
I personally wouldn’t go to a school with such a restrictive code, and it definitely turns a lot of prospective student-athletes away.
Even if you personally disagree with the content of the code, you have to appreciate how BYU upheld it, even in adverse circumstances. In cases of far more serious allegations and violations, not many other schools around the country can say the same.
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