Like all of the other years before it, the 2011-2012 NBA season was loaded with Academy Award-winning flopping. The art of the flop has been perfected by a number of players throughout the league, and it has often affected the outcome of games. Fans are calling for a rule that would discourage players from flopping, and David Stern insists the NBA is planning to look into it during the offseason.
“‘Flopping’ almost doesn’t do it justice,” Stern said Tuesday according to Pro Basketball Talk. “Trickery. Deceit. Designed to cause the game to be decided other than on its merits. We’ll be looking at that.”
Hahahahahahah. Did he just say, “designed to cause the game to be decided other than on its merits?” I won’t get into how incredibly hypocritical that particular statement is because I could ramble all day, but I’m sure you get the point. Anyway, onto the rest of Stern’s rant.
“Instant replay and elimination of tricks that are designed either to fool the ref or, if you don’t fool the ref, to make the fans think that the refs made a bad call by not calling it,” he said. “That shouldn’t have a place in our game….
“We don’t like to get into a situation where we tell the officials, ‘This is the rule but don’t call so many.’ If there’s a rule to be changed, then we’ll look at it, and I think there will be a robust discussion about an interpretation or an emphasis about how that should or shouldn’t be called.”
This isn’t the first time Stern has insisted the NBA will look into flopping, and with plays like these ones the league almost has no choice. The real debate is what the punishment should be, whether it be a technical foul, personal foul or fine. The problem with a fine is players like LeBron James who make $40 million a year (including endorsements) would gladly flop and pay the fine if they thought it would help their team. Some sort of foul has to be the way to go.
