Brandon Davies. Getty Images.
Whether you agree with Brandon Davies’ dismissal from BYU’s basketball team due to an alleged violation of the school’s honor code or not, you’ve got to admit that he’s handling it with a lot of class.
When Brigham Young University suspended Davies, a sophomore, from the school basketball team where he played center, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that it was because Davies had violated the school’s honor code by having premarital sex.
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While the fact that a college guy is having sex doesn’t really have any shock value these days, much less seem suspension-worthy, BYU is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and expects all students to follow the schools’ honor code. Since the Tuesday suspension, it’s been widely speculated that the honor code, which also prohibits coffee and alcohol, is too stringent.
Unfortunately for the nationally ranked basketball team, Davies was the leading rebounder and was averaging 11.1 points a game. Immediately following the suspension, the Cougars suffered an 82-64 loss to the unranked New Mexico.
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For his part, Davies is acting gracefully under the scrutiny that his dismissal has caused. Clearly not everyone agrees that his actions warrant a suspension from the team, but rather than seizing upon that argument, Davies has acknowledged that his actions have inadvertently impacted his teammates. Davies has apologized to the team, according to teammate Jimmer Fredette who said, “he told us everything. He told us he was sorry and that he let us down.”
The Cougars also seem to be acting honorably. “We just held our heads high and told him it was OK, that it is life, and you make mistakes, and you just got to play through it,” said Fredette. (via Salt Lake Tribune)