What The Flop???

photo courtesy of  SI.com

In a league with some of the most skillful and talented athletes, there is a trend that seems to be spreading like wildfire. This is a trend that is disheartening to the icons of the sport and the fans who crowd arenas and television screens to watch the NBA.

This trend is called flopping.

Flopping is when a player tries (usually successfully) to deceive an official by faking or exaggerating contact by an opposing player to try and draw a foul.

Commissioner David Stern has addressed flopping in the past and continues to do so. In 2008 the NBA announced that they would begin to fine players for clear cases of flopping, and David Stern was quoted as recently as last week saying:

"I think it's time to look at (flopping) in a more serious way, because it's only designed to fool the referee. It's not a legitimate play in my judgment. I recognize if there's contact (you) move a little bit, but some of this is acting. We should give out Oscars rather than MVP trophies."

 While no player has yet to be fined for flopping, many coaches and players have been fined for voicing their concerns on the issue. Pacers' coach Frank Vogal was fined $15,000 last week for making the comment that Miami is the "biggest flopping team in the NBA". He has a point. Just do a quick Youtube search for any of the Big 3 followed by the word flop and you will be thoroughly entertained.

But Miami is not the only team that practices flopping, as most teams take part in this art form. And why wouldn't they when it works to their advantage at least fifty percent of the time? This is why immediate action needs to take place and discipline needs to be handed down. This seems to be the sticking point. How to discipline players for flopping. So here is what I would propose:

 Any player found deliberately flopping shall be suspended for the first quarter of the following game on the first offense, then adding on 1 (one) additional quarter for each offense thereafter . The penalties would begin with the start of the season and then be reset for the start of the post-season.

While this proposal has no direct impact on the current game, it would be a definite deterrent. It would be nearly impossible for the league to hand out discipline during the game, as it would be up to the referee's discretion. Also there would need to be a committee that would determine if a player was flopping. Then, of course, an appeal process.

While this latest trend of flopping hasn't become a full blown epidemic, it may slowly get to that if action is not taken. Flopping has become more prevalent now than ever before. This ridiculous behavior needs to stop now.  If it does not, I'm afraid that the flopping in the NBA will soon rival that of soccer.