Morality Play

"...a late touchdown scored by Vinny Testaverde of the New York Jets against the Seattle Seahawks on December 6, 1998 at The Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Testaverde attempted a quarterback sneak on 4th down in the final minute of the game and although television replays clearly showed the football did not cross the goal line, head linesman Earnie Frantz ruled that Testaverde had scored (in fact, the only part of Testaverde that did cross the line was his helmet)."

The above paragraph is from Wikipedia.

That event is something that has bothered me for years. I thought about it again today after reading David Brooks' excellent piece in the New York Times about the Knicks' Jeremy Lin.

Brooks was talking about the tension between morality as it pertains to religion and a devotion to God above all else, and the ethos of pro sports which celebrates the individual and is all about competition and winning.

I've always wondered what was going on in Testaverde's head after that play was over.
He must have known that the football didn't cross the goal line. He was carrying it. It was a quarterback sneak.

I was a quarterback at one point in my youth and I tried a few sneaks. I always knew where I was and, more importantly, where the ball was...and wasn't.

The question is this; what allowed Testaverde to accept the touchdown that was awarded even after the score was challenged?

Why didn't he step forward and say that he hadn't scored? What prevented him from taking the honorable path and simply telling the truth about where the ball ended up?

We all, ultimately, know the reasons. It was about money and prestige and the possibility of advancing toward the Super Bowl. It was about endorsements and The Hall of Fame.

It was not about morality. It was not about true sportsmanship or the idea of gentlemanly behavior.

"Everybody does it." "This time we got the break." "Ya win some, ya lose some."

Not, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game."

In 1950, UCLA head football coach Henry Russell "Red" Sanders told his players, "Men, I'll be honest. Winning isn't everything...it's the only thing!"

Coach, I'm sorry, but, no...it's not.

It is how you play the game.

That's what gets you into Heaven...