Yes, I'm proud of BYU for putting principles first and being willing to jeopardize basketball glory by removing a key member of the team for an honor code violation. I wish we had that kind of integrity in more parts of our country. But I also feel terrible for the player affected and wish that the media (as in the Salt Lake Tribune) wouldn't repeat the alleged misdeed that got him booted. Really, does the whole world have to know that he confessed to missing three months of home teaching in a row? Or was that two months? Actually, it's none of my business.

The real story here, though, may not be isn't the integrity of BYU, but might be the courage and integrity of starting forward Brandon Davies, the young man who, after slipping up in some part of his life, hopefully did what he believed to be right to come clean--even though it would deprive him of a chance to compete for basketball glory on a team ranked #3 in the nation. Repenting and doing what he understood to be right in God's eyes was more important. Sure, it would have been better if hadn't gone astray in the first place, but everyone slips up in various ways and we all need to turn and repent to come back to the Savior. Sometimes the price seems high, as it does in this case, but my guess is that he's a far better man for having made the painful decision to come clean. Thank you, Brandon, for your courageous choice.

Update: March 5 Stories are never as simple as they seem at first. I realize that I don't know if there was a courageous choice or not that Brandon made, so I've edited my last paragraph to be a little less certain. The word "hopefully" is newly added.
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