Brigham Young University has been in the spotlight throughout the season as they have been led by Jimmer Fredette to a regular season ending rank of third. This is unusual being that last year they didn't rank in the top ten and in the years prior, they didn't even make the top 25 poll. But now that the sports community is aware of their abilities and the likeliness of their presence throughout March Madness, they are in the spotlight for another reason; the dismissal of sophomore forward Brandon Davies.
Davies was dismissed from BYU's basketball team on Tuesday, March 1st when he admitted to having premarital sex with his girlfriend. Being that BYU is a Mormon college, the students are required to sign a honor code upon going to the school. Davies broke the code when he disregarded the rule saying that the students must "live a chaste and virtuous life".
With the unbelievable season that the Cougars are having, should the officials have been as strict as they were? Honestly, while this is a major loss for BYU and an unfortunate occurrence for Brandon Davies, I'm going to have to side with the BYU officials and their athletic director. Davies chose to go to a religious school with strict morals and a honor code he was fully aware of, even saying that he thought BYU was the perfect fit for him. He consciously chose to disregard the honor code when he had sex with his girlfriend.
While this will be a considerable loss for the team (as was apparent in their game against New Mexico), they can still move forward and be a force to reckon with in the tournament. This situation has been compared to the loss of Robbie Hummel due to his season-ending injury at Purdue. While they may have lost one of their biggest contributors, I would love to see the Cougars come through in the tournament and show that they still have what it takes.
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