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‘Mormon Land’: Why one-year missions for star BYU athletes?

Is this good for the players? Is it good for BYU? Is it good for the church? Tribune sports writer Kevin Reynolds and columnist Gordon Monson weigh in.

(Richard W. Rodriguez | AP; Chris Caldwell | Special to The Tribune) Ryder Lyons, left, and Brock Harris, football players who have committed to BYU. Both plan to serve one-year church missions.

Brigham Young University star football recruits Ryder Lyons and Brock Harris are stepping away from the gridiron and stepping up to serve missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Nothing new there. After all, about half the players on coach Kalani Sitake’s roster at the church-owned Provo school are former missionaries.

But wait. Lyons and Harris say they are going on one-year missions. Is this some new exception for elite athletes?

Turns out, no.

Of course, Latter-day Saints can — and do — leave their missions whenever they want. But the church maintains that full-time proselytizing missionaries are “expected to serve their full term of service” — two years for young men and 18 months for young women.

Still, Harris and Lyons are announcing in advance their intention to fulfill half that stint.

Is this good for the players? Is it good for BYU? Is it good for the church?

On this week’s show, Tribune sports writer Kevin Reynolds, who covers the Cougars, and columnist Gordon Monson discuss those questions and more.

Listen to the podcast:

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