BYU Player Suspended: What did Brandon Davies Do?
Brigham Young University's No. 3 ranked basketball team suffered a major setback after forward Brandon Davies' honor code violation got him dismissed from the team for the remainder of the season. There is no indication that Davies was arrested, and BYU officials confirmed Wednesday that Davies wasn't involved in a criminal incident, ESPN reports.
So what did Brandon Davies do? School officials aren't saying, but it is worth noting that BYU has one of the strictest, if not the strictest honor codes in the country. "The code forbids premarital sex, the use of alcohol and illegal drugs, and cheating on schoolwork." Students are expected to live a chaste and virtuous life, attend church regularly, as well as abstaining from tobacco, tea, coffee and substance abuse. Thus, Brandon Davies' honor code violation remains a mystery.
BYU released a statement saying that decisions on Brandon Davies honor code violation and membership with the team and school are still undetermined; they are to be resolved by an honor code hearing, ESPN reports.
So is it legal for a university to kick a player off of a team for perfectly legal activity? Can the university kick a player off a team for drinking tea, for example? Generally speaking, yes. It's not a perfect analogy, but the situation is similar to the concept of at-will employment.
Coaches and universities are given wide latitude on who to keep at the school or on the roster. As long as the University isn't breaking some other law, such as hiding behind the honor code while conspiring to remove him due to his status in a protected class, their actions are likely perfectly legal.
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