Thursday, March 10, 2011
BYU Honor Code
This past week major news surfaced when Brigham Young University one of the top ranked basketball teams in the country kicked off Brandon Davies, the team's leading rebounder after he admitted he had premarital sex with his girlfriend. Tim Tebow and Amare Stoudemire made supportive comments on Twitter after this. Tebow, a very religious person himself was more understanding of BYU's Honor Code policy, which even prevents students from drinking tea or coffee something that would probably be unthinkable here in Iowa City. Still its BYU and the Honor Code is something every student signs before they enroll at the university. Amare's comments via Twitter were more derogative and he seemed to not care about the school's religious background or policy. He was happy Davies was just "having fun" and thought it wasn't a big deal. Unfortunately for the BYU basketball team, Davies is gone for the rest of the season for having sex a feat that seems pretty pedestrian in society today. Going to Iowa that seems completely weird because Iowa basketball has gone through the Pierre Pierce sex scandal. Anyway as for a LGBT athlete going to school at BYU this is what the Honor Code has to say about that. “Brigham Young University will respond to homosexual behavior rather than to feelings or attraction and welcomes as full members of the university community all whose behavior meets university standards. Members of the university community can remain in good Honor Code standing if they conduct their lives in a manner consistent with gospel principles and the Honor Code
However, reading along it seems completely hypocritical that the school would dismiss an athlete who was homosexual just if they were holding hands with someone of the same sex.
Another excerpt from the Pat Griffin blog: The truly sad thing is that even in public universities where LGBT students’ rights are supposed to be protected, all it takes is to have a coach who believes that being LGBT is morally wrong or a disruption to the team and an athlete’s career can be just as much in jeopardy. It happens in women’s sports all the time. Coaches can and do act on their personal prejudices even when school policies and state laws should protect students from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Too often administrators look the other way or back the coach. At least BYU is being consistent with the values the university and the Mormon religion espouses. We don’t have to like it. As a private religious school, they have the right. I am more upset about public schools that enable, condone, ignore discrimination against LGBT coaches and athletes even as they claim to be committed to protecting the rights of LGBT people on campus. That kind of hypocrisy is really difficult to see and just as painful for the young people who suffer because of it.
I realize its the school's decision to choose what they accept and allow in their honor code, but reading this just makes me sick to my stomach with the blatant hypocrisy involved with BYU's honor code. Nothing will happen to change this though because BYU is a private school and they are allowed to conduct themselves how they want to. It would probably take a big time athlete at BYU to come out and admit he or she was homosexual for them to reconsider this policy. So unless Jimmer Fredette is coming out of the closet anytime before March Madness starts, the honor code is here to stay.
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