Honor the Code

I'm a big time Jimmer Fredette fan, so consequently that had me following the Cougars a little bit this year. Obviously there was a big set back this week with the dismissal of Brandon Davies violating the school honor code. If you're not familiar with the story, just Google Brandon Davies + Honor Code, and you'll receive about 200,000 results. The obvious commentary this week has been that an Honor Code like BYU's is completely insane for a college kid to follow. I'm inclined to agree, but having said that it's a set of rules that the school has, and it's not like they are new for 2011. BYU is a different culture, one that I'm sure most of us are not and never will be familiar with. Those that are though, like Brandon Davies, take it very seriously. Should he have been kicked off the team for violating the honor code by having premarital sex with his girlfriend? Something I'm sure hundreds of BYU students are participating in every day? Yes, he should have...according to the school, and that's all that matters. I think what is getting lost in this story is how he was removed from the team, not why. It's not like some student from a rival school took shady cell phone pictures of Davies in a compromising position, stuffed them in a manila envelope and mailed them to the dean at BYU or the head of the NCAA. The kid turned HIMSELF in, for no other reason than guilt. That's honor. He knew that he had committed a violation of a code that he agreed to uphold, and decided he should be punished. He made all of those decisions despite knowing that his team was in the midst of a dream season, coming off of their biggest win of the year, staring a number seed in the face, and he still turned himself in. Now, I'm not saying that Davies needs to be nominated for man of the year, or any other similar commendation, but in this world of me first, look at me, tweet me, blah, blah, blah, this kid put himself in a position to be scrutinized in a way that he should not have to endure. For that, I hold a great deal of respect for Davies, and only hope that this experience helps to strengthen him..