Center Brandon Davies of the Brigham Young University (BYU) basketball team has been suspended from the team for the remainder of the season. The Salt Lake Tribune reports he was suspended because he engaged in premarital sex.
The suspension is obviously devastating for fans of the BYU team, which was ranked #3 in the country and looking forward to a possible #1 ranking in its region in the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament.
However, it baffles me to learn that some people are criticizing the University’s action.
There are considerations here that are not fully captured by the mere headline, “Basketball player suspended for having sex.” This was not just a matter of some prudish administrator declaring, out of the blue, “I’m shocked, shocked to learn that college athletes are having sex!”
Technically, Davies was suspended for violating the school’s honor code — a document that every student at BYU (the flagship university of the Mormon religion) is required to read and sign before enrolling. The honor code forbids sex outside marriage and requires students to “live a chaste and virtuous life.” So Davies knew what the rules were, agreed to them, and knew he was violating them.
It’s also important to note Davies’ own reaction to being disciplined. Has he gone from TV show to TV show, giving Sheen-like rants about how he did nothing wrong? Has he hired a high-priced attorney to sue the school and demand his roster spot back?
No, Davies did none of these things. In fact, it appears he was the one who turned himself in, approaching the athletic director and basketball coach to seek “direction and counsel.” (They, in turn, might have been tempted to cover up the situation until after the NCAA tournament — but instead, they immediately notified the honor code office).
Davies also spoke to his teammates, one of whom reported, “He told us he was sorry and that he let us down.” Davies was “extremely remorseful, heartbroken,” said another source. His teammates, in turn, were supportive of Davies — but not critical of the suspension. “You make mistakes,” said Jimmer Fredette, a candidate for national player of the year.
Nevertheless, Salt Lake Tribune columnist Gordon Monson said the school should have offered “an open, helping hand” instead of “a clenched iron fist.” But Davies has not been kicked out of BYU (although the honor code investigation continues). His coach, Dave Rose, even said that he thinks the sophomore star will play basketball for BYU again. So missing a month’s worth of games is hardly an “iron-fisted” response.
With all the scandals and cynicism surrounding big-time college sports, we should be rejoicing at this story as a refreshing counterweight. You have an athlete who confesses his mistakes, instead of waiting for the media (or Facebook) to reveal them. You have a university that treats an athlete like any other student. And you have an athletic department that recognizes that “honor” is more important than winning.
And yes, BYU is even right about premarital sex. BYU is, after all, a Mormon institution, and while I personally disagree with Mormon theology, I give them credit for not just talking the talk, but actually walking the walk, when it comes to their moral teachings. I would venture to guess that compared to other major sports schools, BYU has lower rates of binge drinking, date rape, sexually transmitted diseases, and out-of-wedlock pregnancies.
Brandon Davies is a young man who has learned a hard lesson. He will likely get another chance — next year, and the year after that. Meanwhile, the rest of the country could learn a lesson from Brigham Young University — a lesson about sports, about honor, and about sex.
Peter Sprigg is a senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council in Washington.