. >>> and now, the personal drama unfolding on the mormon campus of brigham young university. it has everyone debating what is a fair promise, a rule, and what is a just punishment? and what about the student, the star on the red-hot byu basketball team? abc's abbie boudreau is in utah. >> reporter: at the strictly mormon brigham young university, all students must promise to adhere to a formal code of ethics that almost seems quaint in 2011. students pledge to not only "use clean language," "abstain from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea and coffee," they must also promise to "live a chaste and virtuous life." one of their star players, brandon davies, broke that code, reportedly confessing to pre-marital sex with his girlfriend. now, he's been suspended for the rest of the season. right on the eve of march madness. basketball is another kind of religion here, where students pitch tents in anticipation, days before the games. and this team was on a roll. ranked third. and this player was the power behind it. with davies out, the cougars suffered a stunning loss to new mexico,

davies didn't know the rules at brigham young university. any point he deserves a second chance? i know honesty is also a part of your honor code. he didn't lie about it. he didn't deny it. and he was quick to cop to it once you presented this to him. >> that is correct. brandon was very forthright in his discussion about the incident and we feel that he has a second chance. we are doing all that we can to keep him in the fold and to make sure that he has access to the team and that he'll be able to come and achieve the dreams that he had before and he's excited to see the future and take care of business to be able to do the things necessary to get back in full team -- team work. >> i guess i sense from what you're saying there is a possibility, i think a lot of your basketball fans are probably wondering does this mean he is going to play again this season? is there a possibility he may come back this season or has that been off the table? >> no. part of the discipline was that he won't be able to represent the team this season. we're work

. >> reporter: winning can be intoxicating, but that's not what got brigham young university star brandon davies in trouble. the 6'9" sophomore, one of byu's leading scorers, was suspended from the nationally ranked team for reportedly having sex. a red-letter violation of the mormon school's honor code. >> it is something that we don't wink at at the university. it's something that is applied fairly amongst all of our students. >> for byu, this moral standard is huge. >> reporter: it's got the nation talking. >> i probably would have swept this thing under the rug for two or three weeks. >> reporter: just how strict is too strict? >> players get kicked out of school all the time, but not for the things that byu players do. >> reporter: the cougars coach said those who criticize the university are missing the point. >> it's not about right and wrong. this is about commitment. >> reporter: every student signed byu's honor code, which today sounds almost quaint. for men, no hair over the ears. for women, no skirts above the knee. other transgressions, no tea, no coffee, no bad language. eve

. >>> brigham young university explained why it kicked star basketball player brandon davies off thes was dismissed for violating the mormon school's honor code for having premarital sex. the athletic director defended the decision. >> we understand that people across the country might think this is foreign to them. and they're shocked and surprised. but for us, we deal with this quite often. >> an honor code review is under way to determine if davies will remain in school, and whether he could play next season. >>> straight ahead, your friday morning weather. and in sports, the heat and the magic battle in miami. well-being. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. this is your lucky day. pantene's 2-in-1's are customized, with 5 new versions. find yours and love it or twice your money back. that's the smart beauty guarantee. 2-in-1's from pantene. healthy makes it happen. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] introduc

. >> reporter: at the strictly mormon brigham young university, all students must promise to adhere tode of ethics that almost seems quaint in 2011. students pledge to not only use clean language, abstain from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea and coffee, they must also promise to live a chaste and virtuous life. one of their star players, brandon davies, broke that code, reportedly confessing to premarital sex with his girlfriend. now, he's been suspended for the rest of the season. madness. eve of march madness. and this team was on a roll, ranked third. and this player was the power behind it. with davies out, the cougars suffered a stunning loss to new mexico, an unranked team. and now, their chances of taking a national title look slim. despite supporting davies, students across campus today say they support the code. >> we all sign the honor code, you know? we all agree to it. and you know, that's the punishment for it. >> reporter: his coach responded in a radio interview. >> we all know what we sign up for when we come to byu. and the way he handled the mistake is -- he did the

handcart across the american west, settled in utah and in the west, and my mother went to brigham young university while my father was contemporaneous with stokely carmichael at howard university. and the two of them met, of course, in graduate school, which is the place where these sorts of things happen. >> hinojosa: oh, for graduate school! >> oh, for graduate school! so and i'm the youngest of five children in an interracial family where some of my siblings have two black parents and some of my siblings have two white parents. and we grew up in the american south in virginia my parents raised this family, and so... in the context, also, of divorce. so it was quite a challenge, and yet what i'll tell you is that the next generation of kids-- my kids, my sister's kids-- they all know each other and love each other, and they are latino and they are white and they are black, and we spend family vacations together, and we have each and every one of us learned from the other. so my white sister who marries a latino man and has latino children and raises them in california is affected by having had b

a star player from brigham young university is thrown off the team. >> he admitted to breaking the school's news now." >>> good morning, everyone. i'm mike marusarz in for rob nelson. >> i'm peggy bunker. >> that byu player, brandon davies, is a star athlete. we'll get the latest saying davies made a difficult confession but it was all on him to go to the school administrators and tell them what happened. >> byu has this honor code. and we'll talk about that. >>> also ahead, an unusual way to express your dissatisfaction while shopping at a liquor store. get the story behind the mess captured by surveillance cameras. look at this. >> she said she was having a bad day. looks like it. >> sobering day. >> right. >>> also coming up later, trust no one when it comes to ufos. what's missing from the latest british government on space aliens and flying saucers? >> okay. keeps everybody tuned in, i suppose. >>> we'll begin with the star player who now really is a former player for brigham young university men's basketball team. >> the team takes on wyoming tomorrow. when they do they'll be without

where florida gets 2, brigham young university 3 and wisconsin, 4. ucla the 4th with a 7th seed. and stanford will be a no. 1 seed when the women's needle is a announced tomorrow. still to come tonight on sportswrap, one of the guys that the a's acquired in the off-season for some punch was doing some punching today in the cactus league. we'll be right back. . >>> he was there for the bleak years and for the billy-ball revival. mitchell paige died yesterday. he was second to eddie murray for american league rookie of the year in 1957 was just 59. the cause of his death not yet closed. a's most high-profile off- season acquisition doing what he was hired to do against former athletic houston street of colorado. that is a no doubter for hideki matsui to gift a's the 4-2 lead. and it started a power surge in three straight innings. barton in the 4th. >> that was hit well. >> that is his first spring homer and how about another new acquisition? cliff pennington in the 5th? this is the first time penningtion went deep. the 9-4 win and trevor cahill did the honors oned mound. >> the gi

. >> personal drama at the mormon campus at brigham young university has everyone debating tonight whatrule what just punishment. byu basketball team. story everybody here. >> here at the young steam must problems to add normal indicate to 2000 license. they used clean language ab stage from alcoholic bench tobacco team me us life a chase and virtuous life. one of the star players daveies broke the card. reportedly confess to go pre-marital sex with his girl frenl. now suspended for the rest of the season. right on the reef of his sad necessity. another kind of religion where parrots preponderance before the game on a role. ranked third. this player was the power hound it. with davis out the dues arrests stunning loss to new mexico. unrank team. now the chances of taking a national looks despite the set to he was to crazy he support the body. we also awe you agree to it and that's caution for it. >>reporter: coach responded in a 8 radio interview lasts month when we come to bui is, he did the wrong. this is when so many other after lease sports seem to have been getting a path like newt

a basketball player at brigham young university in utah, byu, has been dismissed from the team, not suspendedsed from the team, and could be possibly even be expelled from the school, for having sex with his girlfriend. apparently this is a violation of the school's honor code. can you imagine? byu's honor code says students can't have premarital sex, they can't lie, smoke, no drugs, no alcohol, no coffee. you have to go to church regularly. you're not even allowed to drink tea. which is why they've been named "playboy" magazine's number one party school for 11 years in a row. it's like they're living in that town from "footloose" or something. this is brandon davies. he's one of the best players on the team. he has the highest gpa on the team. he won the academic excellence award. he looks like a great kid and now he's out of school for doing what every person in this room except for me did in college, having sex. [ laughter ] it's ridiculous. and the kid's being gracious about it, too. i don't like -- i mean, i -- i don't what to get up on my high horse, but somebody has to do something abo

that's the oath signed by students at brigham young, a strict, mormon university.hen you signed it as a freshman, did you take it seriously? >> not at all. >> reporter: still, reno mahe, a star football player at byu about 13 years ago, would violate that code. why did you get kicked out of school? >> a girl i was dating at the time, my girlfriend at the time, was pregnant. >> reporter: you got her pregnant? >> yes. >> reporter: mahe was kicked off the football team immediately. he says he knows how brandon davies must be feeling. davies, a star basketball player at byu, was suspended for the rest of this season, after he reportedly confessed to having premarital sex with his girlfriend. a huge disappointment for both fans and players. >> it's just a really bad break for our team. and for our individual student athlete, who we all love. >> reporter: the cougars, ranked third, had a shot for the national title. now, many say, without 6'9" davies, their chances are slim. >> when students come to the university, they agree to uphold the honor code. it's something that

a real scandal at big -- at brigham young university.hy a star basketball player will sit out the rest of the season. >>> and one of the world's rarest animals caught on camera. >>> welcome back. a retired fbi agent who vanished four years ago in iran is now believed to be alive. just last night, state department said they have evidence that robert levinson is some place in southwest asia. it's believed the iranian got captured the 62-year-old man in 200. his family said he was in the country investigating a cigarette smuggling operation. efforts to get that former fbi agent out of iran may be underway right now. >>> nine minutes before 8:00. starting next month people in france will not be allowed to wear burkas or any other head wear that covers their face in public. lawmakers approved this for security reasons. anyone who does not comply will face a fine of 150 euros. that's about $190. burkas are traditionally worn by women of certain traditions. >>> the bigham young basketball team will have to finish the season without one of its p

brigham young university will only say that center, brandon davies, violated the school's honor code. based on mormon principles. student agree not to drink alcohol and caffeine. in their first game without davies, the third-ranked cougars were trounced by new mexico. but teammates are rallying around him. >> he told us everything. you know, he told us that he was, you know, sorry. and that he let us down. and we told him it's okay. you know? it's something that's life. and you make mistakes. and you got to play through it. >> a review is now under way to determine whether davies can even stay in the school. that's news at 7:15. the captain said, he's like a brother to us. >> a high price to pay for sticking to your principles. >>> time now for the weather and sam champion is in philadelphia. getting an early jump on spring maybe there, sam? >> you know it, robin. george, juju, good morning. we're going to bring you the largest indoor flower show in in the world. let's jump to the boards. we have a shot of arctic air. it's spring in many places in the northeast. you're 20 degrees cold

brigham young university is in the spotlight for more than just the basketball team's play on the court. a player was apparently suspended for having premarital sex. >> reporter: it was byu's best season ever and brandon davies was partly the reason. the 6'9" sophomore electrified the court as one of the leading scorers. this week byu shocked fans by bouncing him off the team, not for a criminal offense but a personal one. >> this involved a serious infraction. it certainly was not for something minor. >> reporter: the infraction? byu won't say. but from sports talk shows to the nation's sports pages it's been reported that davies was booted for having premarital sex. >> players get kicked out of school all the time but not for the things that byu players do and theirs ends up on the front page snarks. >> reporter: it may not sound like a headline on college campuses but at byu, that's a violation of the honor code, something the school administrators take more seriously than even a potentially historic season. >> it's not about right and wrong. this is about commitment. >> reporter: th

university. listen up, cecil. you preside over a school that is named after a man who had 55 wives. brigham young55. there are players in the nba who don't have 55 kids. how can byu forbid sex until after marriage where at one time you allowed marriage after marriage? it doesn't make sense. and you know what brigham young did for a living? the man was a missionary. they named a sexual position after his job. and to top it off, your school mascot is the cougars. your team is named after middle aged women who today on young men for sex. and yet you are punishing a student for succumbing to the temptation of a woman's flesh. the bible itself tells us to go forth and multiply. who has heeded that more faithfully than this country's basketball players? i didn't know basketball players could play without having se this is the year 2011. times change. sex is natural. sex is fun. sex is best when it's one on -- you get the idea. why am i on a horse again? my point is this. punishing a college student for having sex is like punishing a shark for eating surfers. it what they do and i say this to cecil. do