Grade inflation has been shown in this and other academic journals to be an unethical academic practice. Where the moral responsibility lies is, however, not entirely clear. Various studies directly or impliedly point to the grader (university lecturer, tenured or casual), said to inflate grades mainly in return for positive student evaluations. This article employs empirical (academics' feelings about grade inflation) and conceptual (coercion theory) tools to further elucidate the proper allocation of blame. We find that depending on the individual circumstances of the grader, some can be exonerated from blame, as having acted under coercion when inflating grades.