Honorable Discharge
In a world where winning is valued more than morals and doing things right, it comes as a suprise that a team would suspend arguably their second best player for the rest of the season, espicially when they are on the verge of a conference championship and more important, in the hunt for a top seed in the NCAA tournament. Bringham Young University displayed a rare case where they did things the right way by suspending forward Brandon Davies.
Davies was suspended by the school after his admission to having sex with his girlfriend. Now to most people on the outside this may be a suprise. People are probably sitting at home thinking what’s the big deal he’s just a teenager being a teenager. However at BYU that’s not just a major violation for athletes, but to all students. BYU is a private school that requires its students to follow the ideals and principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints thus making premarital sex a major issue on campus. Upon entrance to the school, students are required to sign a honors code and students are subject to punishment that can range from probation or suspension from a team to expulsion from the school.
From a basketball standpoint, this is a major loss for the Cougars. With the loss of Davies the team loses size in their six foot nine forward, a defensive presence, their third leading scorer and their leading rebounder. This also means guarding standout guard Jimmer Fredette will be easier for opposing teams because the loss of Davies creates one less major part of the BYU gameplan that the opposition has to worry about. Before the suspension, BYU was a favorite to snag one of the four number one seeds in the NCAA tournament and a team that was considered a favorite to atleast make the Elite 8 along with hands down winning the Mountain West tournament. Now most experts are projecting the team as a two or even a three seed and questions are being raised about whether or not the team can even win their conference tournament without Davies. They felt the effect of life without him losing their first game without him 84-64 at home to New Mexico.
From a moral standpoint, this is the best thing the school could have done. It drive home the fact that no one is above the rules and if you break them you will be punished. He knew from the moment he stepped foot on campus the things he could not do. He blatantly defied the rules of not just the school but the religion he chose to follow. To violate the code and only get suspended for the rest of this season is a minor punishment considering the fact that one can get expelled for a violation of the code. This is also a great move on BYU’s part in the sense that they are putting morals and life lessons ahead of a team’s success. Many other school would have found any way to keep their player on the court. Or atleast have him in time for the tourney. There are currently NCAA athletes awating court proceedings for misdemeanors and even felonies yet they still suit up for every game and every practice until the NCAA personally rules the player inelgible.
In the end, you can’t help but feel bad for Davies who was extremely remourseful for letting his team down by getting dismissed from the team. You also have to feel bad for him for doing teenage things. But one’s sympathy can only go so far because it is well known the social requirements of a BYU student.
If the first game was an indication of how the 27-3 Cougars will perform without their forward then things are looking grim for what was a dream season before the suspension. However the Cougars still have one more game left in the season along with the Mountain West tounanment to get things together. Only time will tell if they can pull through this and only time will tell if Brandon Davies will suit up as a Cougar again.
