Why was Maty Mauk suspended for the first time?

That’s the question that has hovered like a black cloud over the Mizzou football program for the last five weeks, rivaled only by conjecture about how a team coming off back-to-back division titles could field such a miserable offense.

Don’t ask Gary Pinkel. He won’t tell you. Neither will his other players, who have honored their coach’s wishes and not discussed Mauk’s situation publicly. Nor Mauk or his father — both have refused comment from reporters.

The Mizzou coach has stuck to his policy of silence on disciplinary matters, perhaps to the detriment of his team. Questions about Mauk and his uncertain status must continue to be unsettling for his players, especially true freshman Drew Lock, Mauk’s replacement.

Pinkel has refused to give a specific reason, revealing only that the junior quarterback violated team rules. But the silence has prevented the issue from fading from the forefront. And it’s led to wide-spread rumors.

Couldn’t Pinkel diffuse the situation by giving a general reason, aka academics, behavior, criminal activity, etc.? Violation of team rules doesn’t rule out anything.

“All my players trust me that I don’t ever talk about disciplinary issues since the day I got here,” Pinkel told reporters. “I know you want more information, but that’s why I don’t do it. I’ve been very, very consistent.”

“What we did here (with Mauk) is exactly like I’ve always done it,” he added. “That’s what we do. That’s what we believe. We don’t overlook things. We don’t cover things up. We do what’s right. A lot of other places would find ways to get the problem solved without doing what we do, but we don’t do that at Missouri. I’ve never done that, I never will.”

Last week after word had spread throughout Columbia that Mauk was involved Wednesday night in a verbal confrontation outside an off-campus bar, Pinkel suspended his quarterback again, this time for the rest of the season.

Pinkel’s refusal to throw a player under the bus is commendable. But it’s a source of negativity for his other players, who face questions about Mauk every day on campus. It’s possible the continued questions played a role in losing to Vanderbilt, a loss that made a bowl berth unlikely.

Besides sticking to his personal values, Pinkel may benefit in the long run.

His loyalty probably does strengthen his players’ trust in him. And his protection of his players could help recruiting.

Pinkel has a history of standing behind his quarterbacks.

In 2005, it almost cost him his job before the Mizzou program had turned the corner and ascended to the top of the Big 12 North Division, moving into position to join the SEC.

In his fifth year at Mizzou with his future widely considered dependent on the Tigers making a bowl game, Pinkel stuck with fourth-year, senior starter Brad Smith rather than replace him with promising freshman Chase Daniel, who eventually brought the program to prominence.

Needing a sixth victory and trailing Iowa State, who shut out the Mizzou offense and the run-oriented Smith by deploying a spy to keep the quarterback in the pocket, Pinkel stuck with his senior.

Only an injury to Smith with about nine minutes left in the fourth quarter created an opportunity for Daniel, who drove the Tigers to 10 points to force overtime and steered them into position for a chip-shot field goal in overtime after an Iowa State miss.

Pinkel kept his job. So did Smith, forcing Daniel to wait another year to take over.

Two years ago, Pinkel reinstated James Franklin as the starter when he returned from an injury despite Mauk’s success keeping the Tigers on track to win their first SEC division title.

“At the end of the day what I teach our kids in this football program and they’re going to apply it for the rest of their life, there’s no excuses for anything,” Pinkel told reporters. “There’s no reasons. We still have a responsibility to win football games.

“Bottom line, we have to win football games together as a team. Unfortunately we’ve been struggling a little bit on offense. We’re playing exceptional defense to keep us in the (games). We’re trying to improve and get better like we do every week whether we play good or we don’t.”

Why is Mauk out for the season? Pinkel is willing to keep the question from going away.