Do The Right Thing

There are eight seconds left in the game and we are down by two points. The buzzer has just sounded from our last timeout and we have the final play ready. We throw the ball in and everyone is hustling to their place on the court. The play is working as planned and our best shooter receives the ball for a wide-open three pointer. And then it happens.

Out of no where the other team’s big man steps out of the paint and jumps high to deflect the shot. As he does, instead of the ball traveling toward the basket, it is swatted right into my hands and I’m wide open. There is just enough time to pull the trigger for a final shot and I toss the ball at the basket. Just as the buzzer sounds, my desperation shot clears the bottom of the net. The referee signals that the basket is a three pointer and we win the game!

But there is a problem. I look down and realize that my left foot was clearly out of bounds when I took the shot. There was no referee close to me and evidently I’m the only one who noticed. My whole team is celebrating what looks like a BIG win. I realize that telling the truth in this situation could cost my team a trip to the conference championship game. What should I do?