NBA Defines 'Flopping,' Sets Far Heftier Fine Schedule Than for Technical Fouls
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In an expected move, the National Basketball Association on Wednesday announced that it had banned the practice of dramatizing purported fouls by “flopping” and established a hefty schedule of fines for players determined in a video review to have committed a “flop.”
What exactly is prohibited? The NBA defines flopping as “any physical act that appears to have been intended to cause the referees to call a foul on another player. The primary factor in determining whether a player committed a flop is whether his physical reaction to contact with another player is inconsistent with what would reasonably be expected given the force or direction of the contact,” the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
A fine schedule calls for a warning for the first offense, perhaps because a flopping offense may not be called on the spot, potentially leaving players unaware initially that they have transgressed. However, fines for the second through fifth offenses range from $5,000 to $30,000, the newspaper reports. That compares to a fine schedule calling for a penalty of only $2,000 for the first five technical fouls.
“Flops have no place in our game,” said Stu Jackson, who serves as the NBA’s executive vice president for basketball operations, in a written statement. “They either fool referees into calling undeserved fouls or fool fans into thinking the referees missed a foul call.”
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “NBA to Ban Flopping, But Won’t Prohibit Hack-a-Shaq Strategy”
