This week it was announced that Brigham Young University, home to the third ranked basketball program in America, will suspend its star forward, Brandon Davies, for the remainder of the season. Davies, who is the third leading scorer and the best big man on the team, was part of a formidable tandem that included the likely national player of the year, Jimmer Fredette. The stakes are especially high, as this season marked the school’s best ever chance to capture its first national title. And with Fredette scheduled to graduate this year, it’s not likely they’ll have another chance like this anytime soon.
So what could prompt the school to take such a drastic measure? With the behaviour of other star college athletes in recent years, one would be forgiven for assuming Davies had committed some kind of assault or perhaps a DUI. But the school put all those rumours to bed by releasing an official statement asserting that the suspension was not the result of a criminal offense. Rather, Davies was suspended for violating the school’s honour code. From what I understand, the honour code is an extremely restrictive code of conduct all students must take an oath to obide by or else risk expulsion. The code is based on Mormon doctrine and is rumoured to forbid everything from premarital sex, to the consumption of caffeinated beverages such as coffee and cola.
The school hasn’t disclosed exactly what the violation was, but radio stations in UTAH are reporting that Davies was busted for premarital sex. And the reason the school found out is because his girlfriend is now pregnant with his child. This scenario is very unique among elite NCAA athletes, so I decided to do some digging to see what other background info I could uncover. (When I say “unique” I mean the punishment, not the act. The act is actually very common among college athletes. Very.)
BYU is a mormon school located in Provo Utah. It’s owned and operated by the LDS church, of which 98% of its students are members. Davies, who is black, actually grew up in Provo and is himself a Mormon. He happens to be one of a small (although not nearly as small as one would expect) group of black Mormons in the States. I actually watched the team play for the first time on Saturday against their conference rival, and fellow championship contender, San Diego State. Unlike most NCAA Div I basketball teams (at least most good ones), the team only has a few black payers. This isn’t surprising since, in accordance with Mormon teachings, Brigham Young didn’t even accept black students until 1971, and even then, they were housed in separate, substandard residences.
In spite of the history, one can’t say conclusively that race was a major factor in the suspension. If it is the case that the school enforces the rule this strictly with all students irrespective of race, or athletic prowess, then I almost feel compelled to commend them for their consistency, and for not maintaining a double standard when the national championship is at stake. But still, it’s a shame that this kid, who helped propel his team to the top 3 in all of college basketball, is now without a squad and may even be kicked out of school, for doing something that every other div I player does on a weekly, if not daily, basis.
I chalk this up to a tragic combination of hubris and naïveté. The naïveté to believe that it’s even practical to police such a draconian rule (as if by suspending Davies, they’ve stamped out premarital sex across the campus); and the hubris to believe that faith is somehow strong enough to quell that most quenchable of desires. The sad reality is that, had Davies and his girlfriend lived in a more enlightened community, they’d likely have had the wherewithal to prevent the pregnancy through contraception. Surely the church’s manic fear of sex helped cause the situation Davies finds himself in today.
On a totally different note, wouldn’t it have been cool if, as an act of solidarity, each of Davies’ teammates all stepped forward to claim fatherhood of the child?!? Like the “I’m Spartacus!” scene… How gangsta would that be?
A black mormon? Now there's a minority!