BYU's Dismissal of Brandon Davies Should Set Example for Other Universities

I’m sure we all know the news concerning BYU and the dismissal of sophomore forward Brandon Davies.

Davies was dismissed from the basketball team due to a violation of the school’s honor code.

Further investigation and a confession from Davies himself revealed that Davies engaged in premarital sex with his girlfriend.

According to BYU’s honor code, all students must live a “chaste and virtuous life.”

Premarital sex is considered a normal part of life to many people and the fact that this collegiate athlete is being dismissed from the team seems ludicrous to many. 

However, I think BYU should be applauded.

In a world that is so accustomed to making excuses for young people and the choices they make, I applaud BYU for acting with integrity.

Davies is the team’s third-leading scorer and leading rebounder on a BYU team that was ranked No. 3 in the nation at the time of this revelation.

So often, we see universities act more lenient toward athletes who break the law or school conduct policies.

They trade integrity for championships and victories.

Not the case for BYU.

When Davies signed his letter of intent at BYU, he was aware of the rules at Brigham Young.

He signed a contract with the school, committing himself to the school’s beliefs and conduct as a student.

We look at the crime and cannot believe that a college athlete is being punished for something that seems much less severe than many of the crimes that other major college athletes commit. 

Society says it’s not fair.

However, whether society likes it or not, Davies broke the rules.

He engaged in an act he knew BYU did not condone.

He was aware of the subsequent consequences if the school found out.

Davies is an adult, not a kid. A 19-year-old is not a kid.

Therefore, we cannot make excuses for his actions.

Now, Davies is still awaiting the ruling on his eligibility for next season, as well as whether or not he’ll be a student at BYU.

And while I hope both sides work out the situation calmly, universities around the nation should take notice of BYU’s example.

It should set a precedent.           

BYU has shown that a school’s beliefs and conduct will always be a higher priority than championships in athletics.

If universities followed BYU’s example, maybe it would send a message to the rest of college athletes around the nation: “Violate the rules and consequences will follow.”

Maybe the growing problem of college athletes with criminal records will cease.

Maybe those athletic programs will lose more games and sacrifice championships because of it.

But at least they will go down with integrity. And integrity is more important than wins.