Honor

Last week, an announcement on a local sports radio station gave me a boost of the Spirit.  This is ironic, I know, because my attention to sports is the equivalent of my stepdad Jim's attention to country music.  But this was no ordinary announcement - Kenny and I heard that a prominent and promising BYU basketball player was suspended from the team due to an honor code violation. And this right before playoffs and the NCAA tournaments.  This was huge news, and it became the talk of ESPN, news networks, and my parents!

Regardless of what the Salt Lake Tribue might think, a violation of the Honor Code serious enough to warrant discipline is always kept private between the student, his bishop, and the appropriate school leadership.  (Well, all infractions are, but most probably don't warrant this kind of public fascination.)  But even we uninformed bystanders could guess that this was a serious breach of the honor code.  That was not the interesting part of the story, though - what impressed me was BYU's response to the honor code and the student's decision to come forward and take responsibility for his choices.  Along with disbelieving ESPN commentators, I was in awe that BYU had chosen to enforce the honor code and cut a student from the team in light of the recent unprecedented accomplishments on the court and all that might affect our chances for further play.  I wasn't shocked, though, like many of the sportscasters were - I am an alumnus of BYU and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which means that integrity is just a natural part of life.  Yes, the student's honor code infraction was not criminal, and to the best of my knowledge isn't a part of any other honor code at any other large university.  What he did would be encouraged elsewhere or ignored.  This is especially true when we consider the number of student athletes across the nation that are committing serious criminal or dishonest behavior and still are allowed to play.  But not at BYU.

I listened to some excellent interviews with former BYU players - Danny Ainge and Vai Sikahema were my favorites - and I was really impressed with the response from their hosts.  Danny gave a radio interview and talked about the BYU environment and how he fell in love with it when he first checked out the school.  He even talked about the scripture in the Book of Mormon that "wickedness never was happiness" and that the BYU honor code helps students in their pursuit of true and lasting happiness.  Vai was so cute - he was dressed in a BYU tie, cap, and jersey and got a little choked up at how proud he was of BYU's decision to uphold the honor code and the student's decision to be honest.  While the hosts certainly didn't understand the BYU honor code and balked a bit at how stringent it seems, they could only say good things about our commitment to honor and integrity.

As I read and listened to reactions about BYU's honor code, I felt a burst of pride and happiness that I haven't felt in a while.  BYU doesn't get mentioned much on the public stage (Jimmer Fredette is the exception!) and our standards are mocked if they are mentioned at all.  In fact, standards in general are thrown out the window as "unrealistic," "repressive," and "ridiculous."  It's not only okay to break your word of honor, it's what you should do if the expectations infringe upon your "right" to do whatever you want.  But that is not what BYU is about, and I am glad to have been a part of a university that chose honor over glory and integrity over achievement.  I hope that this student will feel the power of the Atonement in his life and the support of his university and will make his way back.  I've been floating on air with renewed resolve to live the commandments and standards that the university (and the Church) expect of each student and alumnus.  I have loved just about every part of BYU since I started there ten years ago (excluding my calculus course) and I couldn't be prouder of what my university stands for!