If you’re not following BYU sports, you might not have heard of the current situation they’re in at the quarterback position. At the end of last year, everything looked peachy keen. Jake Retzlaff was doing great at quarterback and had another year of eligibility left. We were looking great for the next season. Then, a month or so ago, the news broke that Retzlaff was being sued for rape (but not criminally charged).
Let me be clear: this post is not about what happened in that case. I have no idea, and I try not to talk about things I don’t have any idea about. It does sound like the case is being settled (in legal terms that I’m not sure I understand), but what does matter is that Retzlaff’s defense wasn’t that the encounter never happened, but rather that the encounter was consensual. Maybe that would put an end to it for many other football teams, but at BYU, there’s the honor code all students sign and are supposed to live by, and one of the big elements of that code is no premarital sex. So regardless of what had or hadn’t happened, the starting QB at BYU was openly admitting to violating the honor code.
This was a pretty big deal, in my opinion. Because either BYU lets him off the hook (and calls into question just how important the honor code is to the institution) or penalizes him in some way, thereby harming its chances in football.
Personally, I would have been upset if they had let him off with no penalties, but I also would have been disappointed if they kicked him out of the university. Everyone should have the chance to be forgiven, and I don’t like the idea that the honor code has some sort of one strike and you’re out condition.
In the end, it looks like the Y told Retzlaff he’d be suspended for 7 games, and he’s chosen to leave BYU to be a quarterback elsewhere. It’s probably for the best, all things considered. There’s still no real way of knowing what, exactly, happened in the case. Retzlaff can go play somewhere that doesn’t have the honor code, and BYU can move on. Yes, it hurts our chances of winning at football, but I’d much rather be a team that follows its principles and loses. Retzlaff could have stayed, sat out the 7 games, and then moved on. I don’t know how realistic it would have been for an aspiring NFL quarterback, but the option was open.
So I’m both disappointed that this all happened, but also proud of the way BYU handled it, from an outsider’s perspective.