BYU Receiver Suspended for Honor Code Violation
Due to a violation of Brigham Young University’s honor code, wide receiver Devon Blackmon has been suspended from the first game of the season against the UConn Huskies on August 29, 2014.
According to Yahoo!, Blackmon has been suspended due to wearing earrings. He tweeted, “yea, We have team standards, and there’s consequences if you don’t follow them, I shouldn’t wear earrings. But I’ll bounce back.” His twitter account has since been deleted.
Every student prior to attending BYU must sign an honor code, committing themselves to live up to certain standards. One of these standards requires men to not wear earrings. The honor code dress and grooming standards for male students is as follows:
[quote_box_center]”A clean and well-cared-for appearance should be maintained. Clothing is inappropriate when it is sleeveless, revealing, or form fitting. Shorts must be knee-length or longer. Hairstyles should be clean and neat, avoiding extreme styles or colors, and trimmed above the collar, leaving the ear uncovered. Sideburns should not extend below the earlobe or onto the cheek. If worn, moustaches should be neatly trimmed and may not extend beyond or below the corners of the mouth. Men are expected to be clean-shaven; beards are not acceptable. Earrings and other body piercing are not acceptable. Shoes should be worn in all public campus areas.”[/quote_box_center]
Head coach, Bronco Mendenhall, has a policy of not discussing disciplinary actions and tries to keep them as private as possible. However, sometimes it’s not totally feasible. Blackmon tweeted another response to his one-game suspension saying:
[pull_quote_center]Rules are rules.. Abide by them or suffer the consequences…. Looking forward to the Texas game[/pull_quote_center]
Yahoo! reports that while many athletes would be upset over a suspension, Blackmon seems to be taking it well. Another tweet came from his @AshantiBlackmon account saying, “I’m feeling so good right now.. like at peace for some reason..”
View the Cougar’s fall football schedule at byucougars.com.