Call Your Own Fouls
A lot of what you do at work requires integrity and honesty. Do you own up to your mistakes?
By André van Heerden, Communications Director
I’ve often been surprised that sports competitions without a referee are often called more fairly and accurately than with a ref.
If you’ve ever watched or played basketball, you may have questioned when a foul is really a foul. Who is initiating the contact? When did a player really get set in position? How aggressive can you be when boxing out?
It’s a really challenging sport to officiate and a big part of any basketball game—whether at high school, college, or in the NBA. Who gets called for a foul and who gets away with something?
It would stand to reason that a basketball game where there isn’t a ref would quickly get out of hand and result in nonstop arguing or a brawl. But incredibly, I’ve found that when there’s no ref, and you play with the call-your-own-foul rule, the game often becomes more fair and the calls more accurate.
It all begins with that first person stepping up and saying, “That’s my foul” or “I touched the ball last; that’s your ball.”
Once one person demonstrates active honesty and fair play, I’ve found that others follow suit. Soon everyone is on their best behaviour because while the competition is important, it’s not as important as being considered fair and honest by others.
Of course, the opposite can happen as well. As soon as one player feels like they have been fouled and no call was made, they in turn are less likely to call their own fouls. You can imagine how this would escalate until nothing is being called and tempers and pride are running very high. Both truth-telling and lies can be infectious.
About much bigger things than a basketball game, Abraham Lincoln said, “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.”
It may seem superficial, but if you can prove yourself to be forthright in a basketball game, that will speak well to your character elsewhere.
The Bible says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Luke 16:10)
And US congressman, minister, and professional quarterback J. C. Watts said, “Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.”
A lot of what you do at work requires integrity and honesty. Do you own up to your mistakes?
If my kids came home and admit that they failed a test or an assignment because they didn’t put enough work in, I’m much more encouraged by that than if they make excuses about how the test was too hard. I’m more interested in them being truthful than their grades.
Often, we may not want to admit our mistakes because we think others will judge us, but that doesn’t seem to happen when it’s reported before anyone else knows. In fact, that seems to raise the respect for that person. Their word is now trusted more because of their demonstrated honesty.
I remember being impressed with professional tennis player Casper Ruud who, after winning a key point in a tight match, let the umpire know that he didn’t get to a particular shot. The commentators mentioned how their respect for Ruud went up, and I’m sure the umpire would be more willing to listen to anything else Ruud might say after that.
Five star General and American President Dwight D. Eisenhower noted, “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”
We might all want to hold on to an unfair advantage we get at work, or at home, or on the basketball court, but that will eventually back-fire. We’ll get much further ahead—and hopefully inspire others—by being forthright.