What to do if you get blamed for someone else’s mistakes

Your response depends on two factors: why you’re getting the blame and how senior you are.

As a faculty member at the University of Texas, I often watch our football team play on fall Saturdays. During last week’s game, there was a penalty on the Longhorns’ defense. The referee called the penalty and mentioned the player who committed the infraction. Watching the replay, it was clear that the penalty was actually on a different player. No big deal, of course, because there was clearly a penalty. But, one player got called out on national television for the mistake of another.