Goodbye floppers. The NBA announced today that it will instate flopping penalties during the upcoming season.
The NBA announced today that players will receive fines for flopping. The referees won’t make flopping calls. Instead, controversial plays will be reviewed after the game and fines will be handed out to players found guilty of flopping.
ABC reports that a first time offense will get a player a warning. A second offense will cost $5,000. A player will receive a $10,000 fine for a third offense, $15,000 for a fourth and $30,000 the fifth. If a player is caught flopping six times the league may decide to hand down a suspension.
The NBA said in a statement:
“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.
Vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson added:
“Flops have no place in our game. They either fool referees into calling undeserved fouls or fool fans into thinking the referees missed a foul call… Accordingly, both the Board of Governors and the competition committee felt strongly that any player who the league determines, following video review, to have committed a flop should – after a warning – be given an automatic penalty.”
What do you think about the flopping penalties? Do you think the fines will stop players from flopping.
The new penalties come just a few days after the NBA Competition Committee , which is comprised of several coaches, owners, and general managers, advised league commissioner David Stern to do something about the practice. Stern called flopping “cheating” at the time and is now ready to get it out of basketball.
Miami Heat coach Eric Spolestra was in favor of the new rules saying that the fines will benefit the game of basketball.
Spolestra said:
“I think will benefit the game. I do. It remains to be seen if it truly has an impact. But I think it’s a step in the right direction.”
