New Rule in Flopping!

[THE HCP]

NBA ANNOUNCES NEW ANTI-FLOPPING RULE

NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2012 — The NBA will adopt an anti-flopping rule beginning with the 2012-13 season, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations Stu Jackson announced today.

“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," Jackson said. "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.”

“Flopping” will be defined 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.

Physical acts that constitute legitimate basketball plays (such as moving to a spot in order to draw an offensive foul) and minor physical reactions to contact will not be treated as flops.

Any player who is determined to have committed a flop during the regular season will be subject to the following:

Violation 1: Warning
Violation 2: $5,000 fine
Violation 3: $10,000 fine
Violation 4: $15,000 fine
Violation 5: $30,000 fine

If a player violates the anti-flopping rule six times or more, he will be subject to discipline that is reasonable under the circumstances, including an increased fine and/or suspension.

The league will announce at a later date a separate set of penalties for flopping that will apply during the playoffs.
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[Mediocre Man]

Not nearly harsh enough. 30k for these guys is nothing

 

[THE HCP]

Somebody with the power please change that to ON flopping. Thanks!

 

[santeesioux]

At least the Clippers will lose some pocket change.

 

[THE HCP]

It's such hard call to make sometimes. Some guys play balls out and are flying all over the place. Sure this will get crazy!

 

[Mediocre Man]

I have no problem with the refs missing a call. My issue is the leagues decision to only slap the players on the wrist for it. Somehow it has to hurt the team. It should be an automatic suspension for the next game after the video review

 

[BlazerCaravan]

How many violations can a player be assessed per game? I can't imagine how expensive it'd be to be a member of the Clippers now.

 

[THE HCP]

Ginobli and Verajao will OWE money by the end of the season!

 

[3RA1N1AC]

I have no problem with the refs missing a call. My issue is the leagues decision to only slap the players on the wrist for it. Somehow it has to hurt the team. It should be an automatic suspension for the next game after the video review

did you read the release? you are in here twice lamenting this as a slap on the wrist, it says after 5 violations it goes to harsher penalties and or suspensions, some players flop 5 times a game at least...i mean we will see how it is implemented, but this seems like a good start

 

[cdub503]

So is this determined after the game? Also what if they flop 6 times in one game? Haha

 

[mook]

Not nearly harsh enough. 30k for these guys is nothing

Maybe they are figuring it's not just about the money.

Some guys will get pretty ashamed to have a rolling dollar figure attached to their cheesy play. Maybe not role players, but the guys making the major endorsements probably don't like the idea of a stat associated with them documenting their unsportsmanly behavior. It sullies the brand a little, which when you are talking about NBA egos is relevant.

Also, it'll be interesting to see what happens if somebody reaches Violation #6. Will they actually suspend them? Will that guy go unpaid?

Does any of this make them less likely to flop in a big game with playoff consequences? Nope.

Does it make them less less likely to habitually do it in a ho-hum typical game of an 82 game season? Maybe. I think so.

I'd like them to go at it more strictly, but this is at least some progress.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

by the playoffs, floppers will be at their limit, they flop and its a suspension hopefully

 

[THE HCP]

So is this determined after the game? Also what if they flop 6 times in one game? Haha

Good point!

 

[dviss1]

This is stupid and will not stop the floppers at all. The REFS need to be held accountable. Plain and simple.

 

[44Thrilla]

oh good, just like all NBA officiating, this rule is also in favor of the star players. 30 grand is nothing to a guy making 15 million a year. It should be based on % of salary. The minimum salary is 400,000, so that guy loses 7.5% of his salary while some one like LeBron only loses 0.2% of his salary. The superstars can still flop, they just have to turn over a couple grand after they are done wiping their ass with it.

 

[dviss1]

Are they going to apply this to offensive floppers too?? This is complete bullshit. The NBA needs to crack down on their officials.
You can't even say:

"The officials didn't do that good of a job tonight"

BAM! 10K fine...

SMH...

 

[dviss1]

oh good, just like all NBA officiating, this rule is also in favor of the star players. 30 grand is nothing to a guy making 15 million a year. It should be based on % of salary. The minimum salary is 400,000, so that guy loses 7.5% of his salary while some one like LeBron only loses 0.2% of his salary. The superstars can still flop, they just have to turn over a couple grand after they are done wiping their ass with it.

QFT

 

[dviss1]

Repost:

I agree the best and most realistic penalty for flopping is to ignore it and let the flopper lie there on the floor while his man scores on him. If you are going to fine someone, fine the refs for calling them. Review the flop calls every week. Fine the refs on a graduating scale based on how often they award the flop. Of course none of that will happen because the league is full of shit if they are claiming they are going to start calling a fair game.

Stands and claps. Spoken like a referee concerned about the game he loves.

It is completely the ref's fault why flops are happening. And I don't think they are being fooled into calling them. NBA refs simply don't do a good job of getting an "open look"(ref term) at the play. If you aren't a referee, you may not even know what an open look is. Again, I ref 100+ games a season as well as pour over hours of tape in the offseason. We talk about flopping all the time.

Notice that flopping is NOT a problem in College ball. That's because the officiating is 10x better at the NCAA level than it is in the NBA.

Case in point (about not getting an open look) :I know this is FIBA but it illustrates my point completely.
This clip below is used in FIBA referee training. Pause the tape at the :22 mark.

[video=youtube;a-Wh4um2NnE]

Look at the Lead Official (the one on the baseline). How in the HELL can he call a charge on this FLOP if all he can see
is asses and elbows? He is what's known as "Straight Lined". Meaning he does not have an "Open Look".
An "Open Look" is when you position yourself so you can see BETWEEN the defender and the ballhandler.
The Lead needs to "Pinch The Paint" on this play (stand right where the paint begins about 3 feet from the baseline).
But what does he do? He is WAY late getting there, the defender flops like a fucking fish and he REWARDS him because
of his HORRIBLE positioning...

This is a terrible call. Remember you have to have affirmative answers to 2 questions on a Block/Charge call.

1. Is the defender in a legal guarding position? Yes. The defender is a legal defender (feet on the floor facing the dribbler).

2. Did the offensive player go TO and THROUGH the defender? Hell NO. Manu Ginobili barely touched that soft ass flopper.

It is a flop plain and simple. Now here's the kicker (NBA refs do this all the time). When you pause the tape, which official has the best look?

The C (center official) does (even though he has a competitive match-up in the post) and it is HIS call.
But since the Lead was WAY late getting over, he is "Straight Lined" (asses and elbows) and has a TERRIBLE look at the play.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

So, basically the new rule on flopping is that flopping is OK as long as you don't get caught too many times.

 

[dviss1]

So, basically the new rule on flopping is that flopping is OK as long as you don't get caught too many times.

Pretty much.. But if your Chris Paul and make over 16+ Mil per season, you can flop as much as you want.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

So, basically the new rule on flopping is that flopping is OK as long as you don't get caught too many times.

The game can go one way or the other based on a call or two. Te very fact that the league will make the call after a game is not fixing the problem. This islike sticking a band aid with a happy face on a compound fracture.

 

[noknobs]

I hate flopping but I think the league is going about it the wrong way. To me, after the new CBA the league is just finding new revenue streams from which they can milk money from the players.

I've read nothing that says the refs would get penalized at all for calling flops, which doesn't seem fair. Gullibility and incompetence isn't penalized, but acting is?

And how does the league decide what's worthy of being penalized? That's just going to cause a whole new line of subjectivity and controversy. The players have been taught from day one that if you get fouled, you make sure the ref sees it by exaggerating the contact. But doing so doesn't necessarily mean they still weren't fouled.

And as has been said by others, the flopping should hurt the team as the game is being played, not the individual after the fact.

 

[dviss1]

The game can go one way or the other based on a call or two. Te very fact that the league will make the call after a game is not fixing the problem. This islike sticking a band aid with a happy face on a compound fracture.

They are simply NOT holding the refs accountable. Flopping is a referee issue. Not a player issue.
Players respond to how the refs officiate. If the ref is rewarding people for flopping (by not being in position) players will flop.
If you let his fish like ass lay on the ground and deal with the consequences of flopping, the player will get scored on
and his coach will eventually take him out of the game.

This will NOT fix the flopping problem. It just creates a new revenue stream for the NBA.

 

[speeds]

30g's is still 30g's and guys are going to be f'n pissed when they get fined for it. Probably less than one fine per team for the whole season, though.

 

[dviss1]

I hate flopping but I think the league is going about it the wrong way. To me, after the new CBA the league is just finding new revenue streams from which they can milk money from the players.

I've read nothing that says the refs would get penalized at all for calling flops, which doesn't seem fair. Gullibility and incompetence isn't penalized, but acting is?

And how does the league decide what's worthy of being penalized? That's just going to cause a whole new line of subjectivity and controversy. The players have been taught from day one that if you get fouled, you make sure the ref sees it by exaggerating the contact. But doing so doesn't necessarily mean they still weren't fouled.

And as has been said by others, the flopping should hurt the team as the game is being played, not the individual after the fact.

TRUTH!

 

[Wizard Mentor]

To me, there are 2 types of flopping:
1) A guy gets bumped and he falls to the ground in an exaggerated manner
2) A guy starts to fall before getting hit.

The 2nd type will be relatively easy to either catch when it happens or review after the game.

The 1st type is hard to call without putting force sensors on the players. If I don't have my heels
planted firmly on the ground, then even a light touch from the torso of Shaq would send me flying.
If the league tried to fine me for the 2nd type, unless it was very obvious, I would appeal with the player's union.
I've seen announcers accusing players of flopping when it would be impossible to prove.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

 

[3RA1N1AC]

 

[3RA1N1AC]

 

[mook]

Skimming through the history of rule changes in the nba, it seems like since around 2000 the league has adopted a number of changes that have made the game faster paced and more enjoyable.

I think this is a decent first step. Given the league's slow but generally good track record of improvement in rules I'm willing to be patient.

You can't really know if you are improving something if you don't track it. This at least gives us a league-sanctioned metric that will have a lot of visibility for fans, players, coaches and refs. That alone is a massive improvement.