On the field, U senior offensive lineman Doug Kaufusi was a powerhouse. But Kaufusi’s muscle wasn’t enough to beat the U’s Student-Athlete Code of Conduct.

With 300 pounds of muscle massed on a 6-foot-6-inch frame, Kaufusi made mincemeat of opposing defenses. His stellar play earned an All-Mountain West Conference selection last year and a shot at All-American status and the Lombardi Trophy this year.

However, when coach Ron McBride and athletics director Chris Hill discovered Kaufusi was accused of off-the-field misconduct on Nov. 21, they made the right call in benching him.

Earlier that day, The Daily Utah Chronicle Sports Editor Eric Walden broke a story describing Kaufusi’s involvement in an altercation near his home last January. The story revealed that Kaufusi had three warrants for his arrest, including a Class A misdemeanor for assault with substantial bodily injury.

When McBride found out, he had no choice but to sideline Kaufusi.The athletics department’s policy was clear. The Student-Athlete Code of Conduct states that “any severe act of misconduct [by a player] will result in immediate suspension from an athletic team.”

The Kaufusi incident illustrates the importance of such a policy.

Until this year, the athletics department had no official guidelines for dealing with student misconduct off campus. The basic student honor code applied to misbehavior in the classroom, but said nothing about action outside the university. When the Athletic Department decided to implement the policy, therefore, it took an important step for the good of the school.

Without the Student-Athlete Code of Conduct, situations like the one involving Kaufusi were much more complicated. Coaches had difficulty resisting pressure to ignore the antics of star players. Associate Director of Athletics Amy Hackett notes that before the implementation of the policy, “there [were] a lot of people? boosters or whatever?who wanted to influence the decisions. [The code of conduct] helped us ensure all the decisions were fair.”

Critics have charged that the U’s policy is discriminatory. They say it singles out a particular group of students and holds them to a higher standard.

This criticism is unfounded. More than any other student group, athletes deserve strict regulations.

That’s not because they’re worse than anyone else. Even average U students sometimes get out of control. Rather, student athletes deserve tighter restrictions because they have high profiles. The way they act says volumes, good or bad, about the university they play for.

Dean of Students Stayner Landward said the media scrutinizes the U’s athletes more closely than it does other students. “If athletes do something inappropriate, it’s going to be in the newspaper,” he says. Other high-profile students simply don’t have that kind of public appeal. ASUU President Ben Lowe, for example, can’t even get more than a few dozen students out to Redfest, let alone 20,000 screaming football fans.

Athletes, therefore, have an important duty as representatives of the university. The U’s reputation as an academic institution often hinges on their integrity. When football players wreak havoc off the field, the public carefully watches the university’s response. If administrators don’t bring down the hatchet hard enough, the U’s commitment to excellence? including academics?comes into question.

Ultimately, the U’s mission is education. As a very public part of the university, student-athletes, and everything they do, represent the institution as a whole. Though Kaufusi didn’t cheat in class or get bad grades, his antics speak poorly of the school’s commitment to education.

The policy is also fair because it doesn’t hurt athletes’ status as students. It only revokes playing privileges. Kaufusi, for example, remains in good standing at the U. Though he was suspended from football, the university took no action regarding his grades, classes or records.

This is perfectly logical since, as Hackett explains, “playing sports is a privilege.” Student athletes can be pulled for fumbling the ball, getting bad grades or not showing up to practice, so why not misdemeanor assault?

The code of conduct correctly recognizes, however, that educational issues are different. When students register for classes, their off campus behavior has no bearing on their ability to pursue a degree. Regardless of what happens outside of the U, students have a right to participate and receive credit.

Some also criticize the policy on the grounds that it hurts the U’s competitiveness.

Hill, however, feels those concerns wither in importance next to the university’s broader mission. “To worry about competitiveness when we are doing what is in the best interest of our institution really is not a factor,” he said.

Athletics lighten the atmosphere and help build community spirit, but they serve no central role in advancing the university’s basic mission of education. When student athletes wreck the U’s hard-won academic reputation, the priorities are clear.

Before his suspension, Kaufusi was one of the best linemen in the country. With his mammoth frame and lightning speed, he manhandled some of the nastiest football players around.

But the Student-Athlete Code of Conduct was simply too much for the star football player. The university’s reputation and its commitment to academic excellence were too important to let Kaufusi play.

John welcomes feedback at: [email protected] or send letters to the editor to: [email protected].