Y. slams 2 more athletes

PROVO — Brigham Young University on Wednesday suspended one football player and partially suspended another, bringing the number of players disciplined for Honor Code violations this year to 14.

The announcement of the three decisions — one player was cleared — concluded BYU's review of allegations of sexual assault and consumption of alcohol at an off-campus party in August.

The Honor Code Office investigated nine players in connection with the August incident. Three were cleared and six punished — three players were suspended, one partially suspended (termed a "suspension withheld"), one placed on probation and another warned, BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said.

The latest decisions arrived nearly a year after BYU President Cecil Samuelson gave embattled Cougar football coach Gary Crowton a vote of confidence.

Samuelson noted on Dec. 3, 2003, that as of that time, "there have been very few Honor Code violations among team members."

Since then, six players were disciplined following a January party where group sex occurred, two were punished after they assaulted another student in April and another six were penalized for violations of the school's personal-conduct code uncovered when BYU began a probe into events that were alleged to have occurred during the August party.

All BYU students agree to follow BYU's Honor Code when they apply to the university, saying they will abstain from smoking, drugs, alcohol and premarital and extramarital sex.

The players suspended for the August incident are freshmen defensive back Karland Bennett and kick return specialist B.J. Mathis, former high school teammates from Dallas, and linebacker William Turner Jr., the Deseret Morning News has learned.

The suspensions are for one year, and the earliest Bennett, Mathis and Turner could return to BYU is January 2006.

The fourth suspension is a "suspension withheld," which means the player can remain in school but will not be allowed to play.

"A suspension withheld is something the Honor Code Office has issued before," Jenkins said. "It is not entirely unique, but it is rare. A student whose suspension is withheld can remain at the university but while here cannot represent the university or participate in extracurricular activities, such as intercollegiate athletics."

That player will remain under the supervision of the Honor Code Office, and the university can immediately remove him from school "if warranted by circumstances," Jenkins said.