No further comment

The dust is finally settling from BYU Quarterback Max Hall's hateful tirade against the University of Utah, their fans, and their whole organization. Hall has issued an apology, of sorts, asserting that he has the "upmost" respect for Utah's coach and players, the Mountain West Conference issued its expected reprimand, and at this point, even the Salt Lake Tribune has returned to covering the Elizabeth Smart/Brian Mitchell trial, the Tim DeChristopher BLM fraud trial, and Peter Corroon's prospects for the upcoming special gubernatorial election.

I'm still just a little bothered by a lingering question, though. Why didn't BYU apologize for Hall's behavior, condemn it, or take any disciplinary whatsoever against him (shoot, why didn't they even bother to run his "apology" through a spell-check)?

It wasn't too long ago, for example, that a certain University of New Mexico women's soccer player exhibited her own little bit of hatred directed at BYU (though, in her issued apology thereafter, she gets points, at least from me, for correctly spelling "utmost"). The difference is that New Mexico condemned in the starkest terms their player's behavior: "Liz's conduct on the field against BYU was completely inappropriate," said UNM Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs. "There is no way to defend her actions."

In contrast, all that's come from BYU in response to Max Hall's tirade is a staunch refusal to comment, asserting that the institution, which holds itself out as a wholly integrated auxiliary of the Church of Jesus Christ "plans no additional action and will have no further comment."

Seriously, the same church which feels it has to rally its members to spend millions of dollars to condemn gay marriage, which monthly sends out its most senior leaders to chide its own young people for not dating, has no comment when one of its members spews hatred?

This, despite the fact that even Deseret News has noted that "This marks the second straight week those associated with BYU's football program have been reprimanded. Last week, assistant coach Barry Lamb and defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen received reprimands."

Of course, neither the LDS church nor BYU had anything to say regarding the earlier reprimands against coach Lamb and Jan Jorgenson, either.

Which is just so puzzling to me. BYU as an institution prides itself on its strict Honor Code. This means, according to BYU, that "any conduct or action inconsistent with the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Honor Code is not permitted."

Am I alone in finding pure, unadulterated, open hatred of tens of thousands of people, indeed, hatred of EVERYTHING, to be inconsistent with the principles of the Church of Jesus Christ?

And yet BYU football claims to be the flag-bearer of BYU itself, "embracing truth, tradition, virtue and honor as a beacon to the world." Not only that, but the football website (while failing to mention, even a single time, anywhere, the word "sportsmanship") asserts that "The development of character is so important that BYU 'has no justification for its existence unless it builds character, creates and develops faith, and makes men and women of strength and courage, fortitude, and service.' The BYU experience should therefore strengthen character."

I'm not looking for BYU to churn out, without exception, men and women who never get angry or upset or never even speak obscene or indecent language. I swear on occasion. I get angry. I hate. Shit, I do a lot of things that I shouldn't do.

But BYU never gave me an athletic scholarship to serve as a flag-bearer of their university, and certainly not to serve as the team captain of the flag-bearers for their army of men and women of character.

Of course, I never wanted to go to BYU, in large part because I never understood why I needed rules prohibiting me, for example, from going a day without shaving, in order to fortify my character.

Then again, BYU is apparently so righteous that it doesn't need to apologize for or condemn or comment in any way on hate-filled tirades in order to help its flag-bearing students to build character.