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Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars guard Nick Emery (4) screams at the Utah bench to rest down after he

Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars guard Nick Emery (4) screams at the Utah bench to sit down after he was called for flagrant foul 2 on Utah Utes guard Brandon Taylor (11) during second half action in the Utah versus BYU men's basketball game at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Wednesday, December 2, Emery was ejected from the game.

By Gordon Monson Tribune Columnist

This is an archived article that was published on in , and information in the article may be outdated.

It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In BYU's Student Competitor Building, there are inspirational quotes displayed from ecclesiastical leaders, bits of wisdom pertaining to living a good Christian life from what the school's owner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, considers modern prophets and apostles.

On one wall are the words of church President Thomas S.

Monson: "Ours is the opportunity to lift, to inspire, and indeed to lead."

On another, in bold letters, is the following charge: "To be the flag-bearer of Brigham New University through football excellence, embracing truth, tradition, virtue and honor as a beacon to the world."

That's what some people, including church and school leaders, accept BYU sports teams to be &#; missionary tools and beacons to a lurching world.

The only problem with that notion is when they are not beacons, when they are brutes and cheap-shot artists, when they punch opponents in full view of television and video cameras, and then those images are shown on highlight replays or posted online for millions to see.

And that's exactly what happened during BYU's basketball game against Utah at the Huntsman Center on Wednesday night, when Nick Emery punched Utah guard Brandon Taylor, dropping him to the floor.

The Cougar freshman was given a flagrant-2 foul and ejected from the game, and the video went viral on the web. Not only did it go viral, it also was the subject of many commentaries online and on local and national sports shows. One commentator said the incident was another case of BYU players doing BYU things.

A headline on a widespread site read: "BYU Continues to Be the Dirtiest School in College Sports."

Emery's punch followed images of BYU linebacker Harvey Langi punching a Utah State player as a teammate tackled the ball carrier, and BYU revolting lineman Ului Lapuaho punching a Boise State player straight in the tenders at the close of a play earlier this season, and BYU defensive lineman Bronson Kaufusi latching onto and rolling the leg of a Nebraska Cornhusker after the player was clearly on the land, and the massive brawl that broke out at the complete of last year's bowl game against Memphis in Miami.

At this rate, how many beacons does BYU really want its athletes to beam?

They don't look favor messengers from God, sent to share the good word.

They look like goon squads from a mob boss or a dirty politician, sent to bust chops and shut mouths.

This can't be what church and academy leaders had in mind when they hoped BYU teams would set an example for all the millions of viewers out there looking not just for a football or basketball restore, but for a bright, shining light to follow.

It's strenuous to imagine Fred and Myrtle or Cindy and Bill watching such incidents and thinking, "You know, hon, these guys in blue have something extraordinary about them, they've inspired me to live a better life."

It's thoughtful of the equivalent of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performing pretty music at a revered concert hall and then trashing the place, tearing it up when the sweet singing is done.

Picture that &#; Mack Wilberg slapping somebody across the grille with his sheet music, some dude from the tenor section breaking a chair over a patron's head.

There are always explanations, of course, for the punches and those unsavory images.

Typically, the rationalizing goes like this: The other guy(s) did something to draw out the nasty from the innocent BYU player(s).

He was/they were just retaliating, answering poor intentions from opponents with a little justified payback. College sports' version of a black eye for a black eye, a busted tooth for a busted tooth, a punched onion for a punched onion.

Avenging angels kind of stuff, because, as a band of brothers, you can't simply stand down when your mates are being roughed up.

A football field or basketball court is no place, apparently, to turn the other cheek.

It's just weird how it's the BYU players who so often are the ones who stare bad.

They're the ones entity singled out in commentaries and headlines.

They're the ones earning the dirty reputations.

For his punch, Emery has been suspended for a game. He apologized &#; to Taylor, to Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak, to fans of both teams, and said he would learn from the experience. After the game, before the apology, Taylor said: "It was a dirty perform and I don't have respect for guys like those."

Emery's not a bad kid.

He's a good basketball player.

He did something really dumb, as he said it, "in the intensity of the game." He said he would "do better in representing myself, the team and BYU."

Still, as long as BYU projects itself and more specifically its athletes as something special to showcase, when they do really dumb things, those things will be underscored and accentuated.

And really dumb things seem to transpire too often, more often than they do at less "enlightened" places.

Maybe the coaches should acquire that under control. Or maybe the school should dial in on what's real there.

Even if BYU believes it has its share of religious revelation, it shouldn't necessarily see its teams and athletes as beacons to the world, rather it should see them as plain human beings trying to receive by in this life, adolescent people who make mistakes and have lessons to learn, just like everybody else.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from p.m.

on FM and AM The Zone. Twitter: GordonMonson.