Disagree.... I play soccer 3 times a week, and the number one conflict in the field (up to fist fights) is when a guy plays rough, does a couple of bad tackles

Disagree.... I play soccer 3 times a week, and the number one conflict in the field (up to fist fights) is when a guy plays rough, does a couple of bad tackles, and doesn't apology after them. Non-apology on a bad mistake = people perceive it as intentional, and rightfully they get angry. Number one way to diffuse situations is to apologize and move on. On the other hand, people do mistakes in passing, shooting, etc... it is part of the game. A quick acknowledgment of the mistake to your teammates is useful (usually just by a raising of your hand/body gesture), but over-apologizing for normal mistakes is not that useful. Same in engineering. If you caused a bug/crashed something: Just say "Sorry guys, I am on it/fixing it", is more than enough. No need to send long winded apology emails, but not even acknowledging it makes you look like a sneaky, "self protecting ego at any cost" type of guy/girl, and people lose trust on you.