This is how ridiculous you want this issue to become, you want people to comment on the validity of something that may never have been said, to what end I cannot imagine. You happen to think the call should have gone one way, and blatantly assume that those who disagreed with your assessment were guilty of a lack of restraint. Apparently you believe you have the credentials to make that assessment, for everybody.
Life is all about different "slippery slopes" and how we choose to deal with them. Is going 12 miles over the speed limit really any worse than going 10 or 11 miles over the limit? Who decides that 12 is the magic number, and who is responsible for insuring everyone agrees with 12? Whose fault is when you run into a State Trooper who has decided 10 is the magic number? The only answer is that the number is 55 and each of us has a choice on when, and for how much we each choose to gamble on what the number "might" stretch into.
The bottom line is the K-State player chose the wrong time to gamble. I doubt there was any question about his understanding it was a gamble and he simply chose wrong. As for what may have happened at some other bowl game, or during the previous season, that's all part of the gamble. When you might be thinking 12 miles over the limit is acceptable and you run into a Trooper who set his limit at 10 mph, just inform him what the number might be in some other State, or what it was 2-3 months ago. It's likely you'll find the same response as what might have happened in another bowl game, or some game somewhere else in the past.
Whether I'd thow a flag, or choose to issue a warning, or choose to simply ignore the gesture doesn't matter any more than what you might have done. The only opinion that matters is that of the official (or Trooper) you're dealing with at that spot and point in time, and how much you might be willing to gamble.
