PROVO — What began as an outstanding policy has given way to the extreme and has made BYU come off looking misguided.

One year ago, during an informal meeting with local media members, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe announced school officials would no longer comment on any Honor Code-related issues involving the university’s athletes. The move was hailed as the right thing to avoid publicly embarrassing college players who might be subject to a school investigation.

It was correct then and still is, as long as common sense is included. BYU should not confirm or deny any Honor Code investigations, but somebody does need to speak up if an athlete gets arrested and it becomes public record.

Using the Charles West situation as the latest example, BYU has kept completely quiet about the football recruit’s arrest that became public last week. West, a heralded running back from Texas who signed with BYU earlier this month, is accused of assaulting a female he allegedly had summoned to his home through a website that solicits escorts and other services.

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For every BYU athlete who has violated the Honor Code but not the law, Tom Holmoe delivered welcoming news.

Police report and court documents allege West brandished a large silver kitchen knife in the garage after he and the female moved from a bedroom when a family member had returned home. Court documents state West placed the knife against the complainant’s neck and demanded sexual favors, which she eventually did after a failed attempt to defend herself.

The felony charges, along with a marijuana charge, go well beyond the standard Honor Code investigation.

At the least, the school’s media relations department comes off as rude by ignoring numerous telephone calls from various electronic and print media outlets. There is no reason BYU couldn’t have returned phone calls or issued a brief statement that indicated no coach or official would make any comment.

Copying a standard response in these sticky situations, BYU should have said coach Bronco Mendenhall was aware of the allegations but would not speak publicly on them as the legal system plays out. In this case, silence is silly.

Six years ago, during his press conference to unveil BYU’s new recruiting class, Mendenhall announced Kyle Van Noy had been arrested in his hometown of Reno, Nevada, and would sit out a season before enrolling. In these serious allegations, BYU fans get nothing.

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BYU’s intent to respect the privacy of its athletes is admirable but in certain instances only muddles the situation and makes it worse. An example of such occurred before last season’s first football game when Mendenhall kept quiet on possible suspensions.

As chronicled, running back Jamaal Williams said after the first practice he would miss the opening game as part of a punishment for some kind of offseason infraction. Once Williams announced it, the story immediately died and no one broached the subject again.

Instead, the media then focused on any other players in a similar situation. By refusing to speak on it, Mendenhall inadvertently put some players in a position of having to avoid the truth.

The same thing could happen again next August during preseason practice. Some returning players might face game suspensions for their parts in the brawl with Memphis after the Miami Beach Bowl game, but keeping everything quiet only prolongs the story.

Once the game begins, any suspensions become obvious. Kill the story early.

BYU is absolutely right to refuse to speak on any and all Honor Code investigations. But once a public police report is written or a player has to miss a game, some sort of comment, however justifiably brief, is in order.

At the very least, have the courtesy to return a phone call.

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