BYU Benches Star Player: “And so shines a good deed in a weary world”

There is a great scene in the movie Hoosiers where the small town high school basketball coach played by Gene Hackman benches one of his star players during a game because of an attitude problem.  As they begin to lose, the parents are screaming for him to get the kid back in the game.  Principals be damned, there is a game to be won!  Hackman doesn’t buckle as there is a higher value he is trying to drive home to his team.

A real life Hoosiers moment hit the college basketball world this week when Bringham Young University benched its scoring star Brandon Davies for an honor code violation.  The violation?  He admitted pre-marital sexual relations with his girlfriend.

Of course now a chorus of ridicule is being heaped on the Mormon based university for it “puritanical” honor code that seems out of step with the times but what is encouraging is seeing a growing wave of support for this point of light in a weary world.

Even Jon Stewart on The Daily Show showed an admiration for the decision in its Tales of Principled Behavior section.  I include the video but with the disclaimer of a PG-13 rating. (The relevant section is in the second half of the clip)

Kudos to BYU for standing firm despite this action severely affecting their Division D Championship possibilities and kudos to Davies himself who has come to the games, sat on the bench, and supported his team.