Bad Calls and the Code

The Detroit Lions were “robbed” of a victory over the Seattle Seahawks by a bad call by the referees. Does the Code have anything to say about this? First, it is important to know that many games are decided by bad calls. It happens in tennis, basketball, baseball, football – virtually every game with a referee can have a game decided by a bad call. It’s something that is inherent in every game – human error. There are those who want everything decided by cameras – every pitch in a baseball game, every play in a football game. But if you did that in football, for example, would you review every player on every play to be sure there was no holding or pushing anywhere? The Code says “I will conduct myself with honor…” and that is the answer. No matter how fair or unfair any game or call is, when we choose to play we are to conduct ourselves with honor. Learning to accept bad calls is one of the tough lessons in growing up.