Integrity on Display
Integrity is arguably one of the most critical components of effective relationship building. Long lasting business success is all about nurturing those relationships in an environment of integrity, honesty and trust. A wonderful example of integrity is exemplified in a January 2017 article written by Brent Esplin in which he writes of stories of people who value integrity more than money. One such story is that of Andy Roddick. Esplin writes,
“In May of 2005 American professional tennis player Andy Roddick was playing Fernando Verdasco, of Spain, in the round of 16 at the Italia Masters tennis tournament in Rome, Italy. Roddick was the number one seed in the tournament and a heavy favorite to win the match and advance.
Roddick, one of the top players in the world, was at the top of his game. Indeed, just one month later he would make it to the finals at Wimbledon before losing to Roger Federer.
Roddick dominated as expected and had triple match point when something extremely unusual happened. Roddick couldn’t return Verdasco’s hard second serve but the linesman called the serve out and awarded Roddick the point and the match.
With the crowd cheering Verdasco ran to the net to shake Roddick’s hand and congratulate him on his victory. However, Roddick knew something that the linesman, the umpire, the cheering crowd, and Verdasco himself didn’t know. The serve had not been out, but had hit on the line, making it in.
Roddick could have kept this information to himself and accepted the victory. Indeed, honor calls are not expected in tennis. Instead he informed the umpire that the ball had been in and offered to show him the mark on the clay where the ball had hit to prove his point. The umpire reversed the call and awarded the point to Verdasco.
Having been given a second chance Verdasco made the most of it. He came back to win the game, the set, and the match giving him a highly improbable victory, especially considering not long before he had been standing at the net ready to concede.
Sportswriter Frank DeFord estimates Roddick’s honesty cost him at least “tens of thousands of dollars;” perhaps much more if he had gone on to win the tournament. Integrity was clearly more important to Roddick than either winning or money. Andy Roddick lost a tennis match that day but won something much more important, and in the process set a great example of sportsmanship for competitors everywhere.”
Merriam-Webster defines Integrity as a firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values. I think you would agree Andy Roddick adhered to this code in spades.
