When it comes to sports, the idea of teamwork is synonymous with sacrifice. Nowhere is this more apparent than football, the ultimate team game. Yet time and again, players on the field seem to suffer the “disease of me” and forget they are part of a unit. Over the weekend, we saw this happen twice. There were two occasions—one in the NFL and another two days later in college—that displayed corrosive acts of selfishness.
NFL fans tuning in Thursday to watch the season’s opening tilt between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles saw Philly’s DT Jalen Carterspitdirectly on Dallas QB Dak Prescott before the first play of the game had even been run. You read that sentence right. Before the game even saw its first snap, Carter was ejected, gone from a matchup he’d prepared for all summer. The Eagles’ best defender, his absence was felt in a major way. Announcers commented on it, Eagles fans groaned.
In a game where Philly was favored by 8.5 points, the Eagles only won by four. One or two plays go another way—a possibility made infinitely more plausible when missing your star defensive player—and the Eagles could have lost to the underdog Cowboys. Who knows what a loss like that at the end of the season could mean for a franchise trying to repeat as Super Bowl champions. It could be the difference between a first-round bye and a Wild Card battle.
While Carter’s spit made news on every sports outlet in North America Friday morning, it still didn’t provide enough education to stop Florida University’s DL Brendan Bett, who also decided tospit on one of his opponents in a game against the University of South Florida on Saturday. Bett did so just as an official walked by, too. The ref threw a flag and the penalty improved USF’s field position. It also gave them a fresh set of downs. The result? That drive resulted in a late-game upset win.
Florida had been an 18-point favorite. Instead, they lost 18-16. The win also marked USF’s first ever victory over the Gators. Florida may have been able to sneak out with a one-point win had Bett not drawn the flag. We’ll never know.
Ultimately, both his and Carter’s actions showed more disrespect toward their teammates than they did to their opponents. Bett’s teammate Jaden Robinson knew it. As soon as Bett spit, he pushed him as if to say, “Have you lost your mind?”
Florida defensive lineman Brendan Bett (90) celebrates a tackle against LIU Brooklyn during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Alan Youngblood)
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But it was too late. While these are cautionary stories for athletes, they are also important lessons for leaders in business. Individualism, selfishness—these are scourges for your team’s success. Yet, sometimes it feels as if both are on the rise. As if they are being rewarded. A look-at-me culture may be self-gratifying to some in the short-term but the best in business and athletics know they are unsustainable.
When things are good it can be tempting to pat yourself on the back—but at what cost? Who are you hurting when you take up the spotlight? Those who make team success about them only cheapen the process. Of course, teamwork also requires a balance. Each person should be at their best while at the same time sacrificing for the benefit of the group. Yet, it’s also important not to devalue yourself in the process.
Forbes contributor Mark Travers writes that altruism in the workplace can go too far. He says there is such a thing as “pathological altruism,” which can overwhelm those around you. But the other extreme is far more dangerous. “Many people who engage in excessive selflessness often do so out of a subconscious need for approval,” Travers says. That motivation—whatever form it takes—is selfishness. It’s the antithesis of team.
Do you know who agrees with that? The NFL.
This year the league is putting a renewed emphasis on taunting and excessive celebration. Writing inSports Illustrated, Mike McDaniel explained, “The NFL informed teams before the start of the season that it would be more strictly enforcing taunting penalties in 2025.” And football fans saw the first example of that renewed emphasis early on when Philly LB Nolan Smith celebrated a tough tackle by flexing over his opponent and got flagged for a penalty.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 19: Nolan Smith Jr. #3 and Darius Slay Jr. #2 of the Philadelphia Eagles react against the Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter in the NFC Divisional Playoff at Lincoln Financial Field on January 19, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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Who was he trying to impress? What was the point of a flex that cost his team 15 yards? In the end, that self-agrandizing behavior goes against any team-minded effort. Individualized celebration in the game has always been a slippery slope, one that has led to loogies on live broadcasts.
Hopefully, given the NFL’s renewed attention to it, instead of a rise of selfishness, we’ll see the fall of those who choose to practice it.