Football Rules- Why don't teams decline this kind of penalty?

[Josh W]

I'm not familiar with the rulebook, but I'm virtually positive that (in the NFL at least), pre-snap penalties cannot be declined.

Many (10ish) years ago, I was watching a Seahawks game. Seattle intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD. It got overturned, though, because the opposition committed a false start (and the play happened because the players ignored the whistle). I adamantly insisted that they should decline the penalty, but alas, they couldn't.

I cried.

Josh