BYU and Brandon Davies

Excerpts from a Facebook conversation I had with a young man about the situation with Brandon Davies and the BYU basketball team.

First posting, him: A lot of people asking me if I agree with the suspension of Davies from BYU, and I do not. If you wanna know why I'll tell you.

Me: If he signs an oath - and thats what it is - and knows the consequences, then knowingly breaks that oath, he should bear the consequences, as should everyone else. One of the biggest problems today is that too many people think rules don't apply to them and they are somehow exempt from the consequences of their actions. Good for BYU for taking the hard stand.

Him: Hey Brother Risser. I will have to admit I am biased right off the bat having gone to BYU. I completely agree that BYU had every right in suspending Davies as a private institution, and that he signed an oath and broke it. I disagree with ...the punishment though as being too harsh. I think the honor code at BYU should be exactly the same as the LDS standard. Instead, there is a sort of “super-standard” that is not applied to the church as a whole. A perfect example of this is going to the BYU testing center with facial hair and being told that you have to go and shave before you take your test. Yet, the same individual could walk over to the Provo Temple and would be fine and worthy to enter. I don’t like the fact of a double standard being applied by academia for a church institution. With that, the punishment should have met LDS standards in my opinion. I don’t think that his punishment was fair compared to other serious offenses such as a DUI, assault, robbery, etc that have serious negative consequences for other individuals. Davies also confessed on his own according to BYU and this should have factored into their decision. The school should have been more willing to work with him and extend mercy and repentance and could have avoided the airing of his dirty laundry in front of the whole country. That’s just my 2 cents though.

Me: I can understand where you're coming from, but the idea of a double standard isn't quite correct. There are a number of situations where the church has a higher, or more strict standard than the "norm". For example, I have had facial hair in one form or another pretty much all of my life, including when I was at BYU. I always seemed to grow it thicker and longer than they liked. It was after all, the 70's when hair and moustaches were a really big fashion statement. But I work at the temple now and one of the requirements is no facial hair. There's nothing inherently evil with facial hair, but it's a dress standard that has been set for all temple workers. Temple Patrons aren't required to dress or shave according to that standard; only the workers. I knew that going in and I was willing to shave for the privilege of serving there. (I do grow it back every time the temple is closed for maintenance, :) but it comes off each time I go back.) It's the same for missionaries, Bishoprics, Stake Presidencies, High Counsels, etc. and up. If a mere member has a moral issue like adultry, the consequences vary depending on the situation, like you mentioned above. But if a church leader commits the same infraction, the consequences are much, much more rigid.

Attending BYU is a privilege, much more now than when I was there. They have every right to set a higher standard - and keep in mind that the Brethren are the governing board, so the standards are, in the end, either approved by, or created by them.

Finally, I have to say that as far as DUI, assault, etc., having a more serious consequence for others implies that this transgression was a "victimless crime" as it were. This kind of moral transgression has a far more subtle and long-reaching consequence than most people understand. It has the potental to affect a great many people over a much longer period of time than the former.

I would not want to sound like I'm out for Davies' blood. I hope everything works out for him in the long run. But I' m certain he was aware of the consequences long before he got into the situation, and believe me, if the school cut him some slack there would be an uproar inside and outside the church, cries of hypocrasy from everywhere. Most (not all) of those objecting to his dismissal are basically using the "everybody does it" , or, "for Pete's sakes, they're a winning team! Can't they look the other way!!" excuse. ( For example read http://northernstar.info/sports/article_981c2c20-493d-11e0-87a4-00127992bc8b.html ). On the other hand, those siding with the decision are extolling BYU's courage to stand for it's ideals at the risk of losing their standing during a winning season. I really hope this is a life changing and clarifying experience for him and his girlfriend for the better like it was for Mekeli Wesley in '97.