The BYU Honor Code

My alma mater has landed front and center in the news this week and it's provided a welcome distraction from the Charlie Sheen (who could use an honor code or two) train wreck.  One of BYU's star basketball players was removed from the team this week for violating the Honor Code.  Much has been made of his dismissal in the media as it comes on the heels of BYU being ranked #3 in the national polls.  The team's implosion against New Mexico the day after his removal only added insult to injury.

As I said, much has been made of this dismissal in the media.  Some of the commentary has made me cringe but most of it has been surprisingly supportive of the University's decision to abide by its code and principles, in spite of the team's ranking and the potential crushing monetary impact of the decision.  As Joe Scarborough pointed out this morning on "Morning Joe," (can I just say how much I enjoy watching the Joe/Mika/Willie rumble every morning - if you're not watching it, you should) the NCAA could learn something from BYU's actions.  The University did the right thing.  It followed its principles, making a very unpopular choice, but doing it for the right reasons.

Look, the Honor Code is a surprise to NO ONE who attends or attended BYU.  No one.  No one can say they didn't know and I'm not saying the young man here is claiming that.  He's done the right thing, owning up to his mistakes and working it out.  He's being supported by his teammates and those who love him.  In my years there, years that I loved by the way, I could not abide anyone who complained about the Code.  My response was and still is, "If you don't like it, get out.  You knew what you were signing up for."  By today's standards, the Honor Code is called unrealistic and out of touch and they said the same thing when I first enrolled there close to 27 years ago.  Could people take their interpretation of it to the extreme?  Sure.  On more than one occasion, I was told I could not take a test until I'd gone home and shaved.  And this was not after several days without shaving...it was more like seven or eight hours.  You laugh that stuff off.

But this much I know...that Honor Code helped form me into the person I am today.  It's a part of the ethical compass that guides my business decisions and actions.  Has it always been easy and have I been perfectly obedient?  No and I would never pretend to be perfectly obedient.  But living by any demanding set of precepts is never easy.  I'm just glad for the chance to keep on trying.