Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You stick to your original ruling.
You tell your friend you are sympathetic to his problem, but that you will not change your decision. "I know you need the numbers but I won't pad the records for you. I saw the other player make the pass and he is the one who is going to get the credit," you explain.
Your friend is angry and gives you a bad time. He says, "I'm going to lose my basketball career and it's your fault. I thought you were my friend but you won't help me out. Don't you know that friends are supposed to help one another?"
You stick to your guns because you know you are doing the right thing.
After a while he gets over being angry with you. Life goes on and you continue to keep statistics for the Eagles. When your contract comes due, it is renewed for another season.
"Sometimes you make the wrong choice just because you didn't see it clearly. If that happens, you will get some flak from the person involved but they will get over it and so will you. However, if wrong decisions are made on a regular basis, it will be noticed," says Eric Moore.
"Over time, there are comparisons from records kept by other statisticians on that player. If there is a wide variance between your stats and those stats kept by other people, then you will get a reputation of padding and you will not get much work."
Overall, sports statisticians must be decisive, says Leroy McKinnon. He is the statistician for a major junior hockey league. And the consequences of a mistake can be significant.
"Teams are not picky, but they want to make sure that players are getting the right stats, especially players that are entering the draft. It's very important for these players," he says. "If somebody is off by a couple of points, that could affect their position in the draft."