Brandon Davies seems to have contracted the worst sexually transmitted disease ever: expulsion.
Early yesterday morning, the news broke that Brigham Young University would be excusing Davies from the basketball team for a vaguely worded "violation of the school's conduct policy."
The rumor mill started swirling. What did he do? We have heard horrible stories of the actions of athletes in the recent past, so the severity of his infraction was only limited by our imaginations.
At around noon, the school released a statement claiming that Davies' violation was not criminal in nature.
The mystery that the school was putting around this incident was only making it more interesting. The fact that it wasn't illegal eliminated most of the more intriguing theories, but it still must have been something bad.
Davies was a major part of the basketball machine that BYU was putting on the court this season. He was Jimmer Fredette's number-two man on the floor. He was the team's leading rebounder and was third on the squad in scoring.
He must have done something terrible for a program that had a legitimate shot at a national title to kick out a player that contributed that much.
Late last night, the official reason rolled in. The country held its breath to find that the heinous act that Davies had committed was…having sex with his girlfriend.
Wait, what?
The sophomore was dismissed from the team and is looking at expulsion from his university because he had sex with his girlfriend?
Was she underage? No.
Was it consensual? Yes.
Was she human? Yes.
When the announcement was made, the collective thud of every sports fan's jaw hitting the floor could have been heard halfway across the world.
It turns out that at BYU, having consensual sex with a partner of legal age is an offense equal to that of steroid use, gambling, or assault.
This is because BYU has a code of conduct that all of its students must abide by. As BYU is the largest Mormon university in the nation, the rules are heavily influenced by the religious affiliation of the school.
Some of the rules are simple. Rule number one: be honest.
Some are more complicated. Rule number six: abstain from alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, and substance abuse.
The rule that caught Davies was rule number two: live a chaste and virtuous life.
Sexual intercourse of any kind is considered unchaste and therefore grounds for disciplinary action.
The initial reaction to this news is utter disbelief. How could a program handicap itself so severely for something so minor?
That is the price of integrity. It may sound ridiculous to most of the country, but BYU takes pride in its value system. It is the religious beliefs that define the university, not the athletics department.
The move is commendable. Every student agrees to abide him or herself by the code of conduct. They all know what is expected of them if they wish to be a student at BYU. Although he was a starter on one of the best teams in the country, Davies was one of these students first.
He was not shown any special treatment because he was an athlete, something that is all too common. Unfortunately, the decision to hold true to its values has struck a blow to the basketball team that it will not recover from.
The NCAA tournament is right around the corner, and there is not enough time for the team to come up with an entirely new style of play to compensate for Davies' absence and still be competitive.
So, good for BYU for standing by its morals, but good luck living with it.
E-mail: carey.beyer@ubspectrum.com
