As Mac Breedlove has learned, are no shortcuts in life.

The Austin, Tex., teenager thought he had got away with cutting in line while boarding a Southwest Airlines flight, only to be shamed into an apology over the aircraft’s public address system by his lacrosse coach. The high-school student was en route to a summer tournament with his teammates.

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Southwest Airlines has an open seating policy: customers are assigned different boarding groups, depending on how early they check in. Breedlove tried sneaking in with an earlier boarding group, but was caught by his coach, who made him stand up in front of the plane’s passengers and flight attendants in order to express his remorse. As the New York Daily News reported:

“During the boarding process I took advantage of this airline’s kindness. When some of my teammates were called to the front of the line, I was not. And yet, I cut in line,” he said. “This is not how my coaches, teammates or parents expect me to behave,” he said earnestly.

The passengers were fairly forgiving, applauding as the young teen as he was forced to give his apology publicly on the plane, though the incident was met with booing when it was first revealed.

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Breedlove expressed his regrets on the flight: “I hope you will all find it in your hearts to forgive me, for I am just a young man that thinks I’m smarter than I am. Enjoy your flight, and remember to fly Southwest, because they let my coach do this to me.”

Erica Ho is a contributor at TIME and the editor of Map Happy. Find her on Twitter at @ericamho and Google+. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.