Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire made an about-turn Saturday after originally ripping Brigham Young University for removing Brandon Davies from the men’s basketball team for having sex with his girlfriend.
BYU dismissed Davies from the team Tuesday for violating the Mormon school’s Honor Code, which forbids students from having premarital sex. BYU is a private school owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Don’t ever go to BYU,” Stoudemire wrote on his Twitter account Friday, before going on to reference Davies’ race. “They kick a Young Educated (Black) Brother OUT OF SCHOOL. The kid had premarital sex. Not suspended, Not Release. Wow!”
A second post read, “P.S. With his girlfriend. Come on BYU don’t kick the kid out of school. Let’s be honest he is in college. Let’s the kid live a little.”
But on Saturday, Stoudemire tweeted a completely alternate view on Twitter.
“I totally understand the actions of BYU, I totally respect the school an (sic) the conduct rules. BYU has a great athletic program,” Stoudemire wrote, drawing criticism from his followers on the social networking site.
“That’s quite a retreat. I just hope you stand you ground harder in the playoffs,” one follower wrote.
“man you can’t just change your stance like that, that’s lame. You can’t take back what you said about them. Man up amare,” offered another.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the 6-foot-9 sophomore admitted his transgression to BYU officials on Monday. The school’s honor code states that students must “live a chaste and virtuous life,” and says they cannot drink alcoholic beverages, tea, coffee, smoke or use illegal drugs.
Davies, 19, was third on the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game and is the team’s top rebounder.
The Cougars lost their first game without Davies, falling to New Mexico 82-64 on Wednesday.
Despite what Stoudemire wrote, Davies has not been kicked out of the school, but was suspended for the remainder of the season. His future at the school has yet to be determined.
Head coach Dave Rose said during the week that he expected Davies to return to the team at some point.
