Ethical Dilemma

BYU basketball forward Brandon Davies' suspension from the BYU basketball program certainly presented an ethical dilemma for university officials. The essence of the dilemma centered around the impact that the decision would have upon the external and internal perception of the school's honor code and the impact such a decision would have upon the school's basketball program. On the one hand, the university was faced with preserving the integrity of the school's honor code by suspending Davies. On the other hand, a suspension dramatically derailed the success of the school's nationally ranked basketball program. The difficulty of the decision is realized when considering that the basketball program was on the eve of becoming "America's team" with a possible "Cinderella run" to the Final Four Championships. It is probable that the university's viewed its decision as a strong voice in upholding the principle of the honor code. This example, teaches us that one of the questions that we should ask ourselves when faced with ethical dilemmas is: "Which principle is most important?" Another question might be: "Which decision brings success in the short-term/long-term?" "Is the short-term more important? Or is the long term more important?"