BYU COUGARS
Cougar Legend Steve Young Tweets Support Of LGBTQ+ Students At BYU
Mar 6, 2020, 1:29 PM | Updated: 2:53 pm
Former NFL Player, Steve Young attends the NFL Honors at University of Minnesota on February 3, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – BYU and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young tweeted his support of the LGBTQ+ students that attend Brigham Young University.
Young sent out a tweet early Friday morning, a couple days after Elder Paul V. Johnson, commissioner of the Church Educational System, clarified changes in wording that were made to the Honor Code about two weeks ago.
The clarification prompted protests by several dozen students on campus.
The BYU Honor Code is a set of standards that students commit to uphold as part of admittance to the private university.
The changes to wording coincided with a new handbook released by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which owns BYU.
Today this letter from Elder Paul V. Johnson, Commissioner of the Church Educational System, regarding the updated Honor Code was sent to students and employees at all CES schools. pic.twitter.com/sADljd8lQT
— BYU (@BYU) March 4, 2020
The update to the Honor Code created confusion for some students. On Wednesday, BYU tweeted Elder Johnson’s letter clarifying the update, and what it means for student behavior.
The initial change removed a section specifically addressing “homosexual behavior.” When it did, some students immediately responded with same-sex romantic expressions on campus.
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“Same-sex romantic behavior cannot lead to eternal marriage and is therefore not compatible with the principles in the honor code,” wrote Elder Johnson.
The clarification prompted protests on campus of more than 100 students who marched in the Quad Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.
— Steve Young (@SteveYoungQB) March 6, 2020
Steve Young had an outstanding career at BYU where he threw for 7,733 yards and 56 touchdowns. He went on to win three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and appeared in the Pro Bowl seven times in his 14 seasons in the NFL.
Young, a member of the church and descendent of Brigham Young, tweeted his support Friday of the LGBTQ+ students at the university.
“I stand with the LGBTQ+ Students of BYU,” he tweeted, with a screenshot posted of another BYU alumni’s Instagram story.
Young has a history of showing support to the LBGTQ+ community, in 2008 Young and his wife, Barbara, placed “No on Prop. 8” signs in the front yard of their California home. Prop. 8 banned gay marriage in California and was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme court.
Young and his wife were keynote speakers at the 32nd Annual Conference of Affirmation in Salt Lake City in 2013.
