BYU COUGARS PR PLAYS ARE OUT OF BOUNDS
Would it have been too much to give Brandon Davies a one-game suspension?
Earlier this week, the star forward on Brigham Young University’s nationally ranked basketball team was suspended for the season after violating the school’s Honor Code. The 6-foot-9 sophomore didn’t plagiarize any term papers, nor did he commit any felonies. No, Brandon Davies was booted from the team after admitting to administration officials that he’d had sex with his girlfriend.
The issue of course is that Davies committed to an honor code required of all students and employees of BYU. It is the price of admission to study or work at an institution that is inescapably clear about what it stands for.
In addition to chastity and leading a virtuous life, the code everyone at BYU must sign stipulates the standard of behavior is honesty, being law-abiding, not using obscenities, respecting others, attending church regularly, and abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee.
For a very religious school that aspires to influence millions of people around the world with the hope of converting them to the Mormon religion, the attention garnered by the men’s basketball team this season had to be a public relations windfall for the school’s mission. With Davies off the team, the potential for a nationally captivating run through the brackets later this month has diminished substantially. 
The team had just moved up to a No. 3 ranking and was projected to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. This past season has been the biggest and most important in BYU basketball history, and Davies was an integral part of the team. He was the starting forward, leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for the Cougars.
There are hundreds of examples of players who have violated team and school rules and been able to come back to the team in time for an important game. Why was Davies banned for the entirety of the season? Would a three-game suspension have been punishment enough? Would the message still have gotten across to Davies? Only BYU administrators can truly answer that.
You have to give the institution credit: it holds up to its beliefs and is not afraid to muck its hand athletics-wise for a larger purpose when painfully necessary. However, the truth is that in one fell swoop the Cougars have gone from Final Four contenders to being on the verge of extinction. And for what? The university could have suspended him for one game and no one would have looked down on the decision.
When the story first hit the internet, the Twittersphere went crazy. That’s right, with violent upheavals in the Middle East, a new iPad announcement, and Charlie Sheen redefining “radical”, Brandon Davies was a top 10 trending topic.
The chatter on Twitter was deafening and polarized, with SocialMention.com reporting that he’s getting tweeted about every 7 seconds. From what I can tell, half the tweets were in support of BYU’s decision.
A quick note to the PR professionals at BYU, keep your message consistent!
Now that BYU has cast judgment and let the world know about it, it just seems hypocritical to allow him back on the bench only hours after the verdict. Moreover, after the Cougars’ 102-78 victory over Wyoming, which clinched them a share of the Mountain West Conference’s regular-season title, allow Davies to clip a piece of the net at the Marriott Centre?
As he did so, the sell-out crowd on hand chanted “Davies! Davies!” and gave him an ovation nearly as powerful as that bestowed upon senior star Jimmer Fredette. This capped an afternoon during which the students chanted in support of Davies several times as he sat at the end of the BYU bench.
Talk about inconsistent messaging.
BYU Coach, Dave Rose became a touch defiant Wednesday, after the Cougars practiced in a gym adjacent to the Thomas and Mack Arena, when he was asked what kind of message he is trying to send by having Davies on the bench.
“There is not a message,” he said. “This is about our team. OK? And we decided to bring him because we thought it would be good for both of us.”
What are your thoughts?
