In this entry in my series The10 Worst Things About Sports, we're going to take a look at an action that I believe takes a lot away from several great sports -- flopping. Please read below and add your thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of this post on the act of flopping.
No game is perfect. Professional athletes, who are the best at what they do in the entire world, find ways to take advantage of the games they play. Once those ways prove to be effective and can increase their team's chances of winning, players will naturally continue to exploit this advantage until there is a severe change in the rules, officiating, or punishment.
The "flop" has reared it's ugly head in many matches and games and heavily influenced the outcome of major events. Let's take a look at what flopping is and how it is impacting major sports.
Flopping: What it is and Why I Hate It
A flop is "a maneuver in which a player simulates a foul by intentionally falling backwards upon contact with an opposing player." This generous definition (flopping can happen without contact) outlines the key essence of flopping -- one player pretends to be fouled by another to trick the referee in calling a penalty.
Due to the importance of a single penalty, players have an incentive to create fouls, which gives them a reason to pretend they have been fouled through the act of a flop. Flops are common because they are effective, and the benefits outweigh the risks.
I hate flops because they are dishonest, unfairly award a team a bonus, and delay games. Although flops are prevalent in several sports, they are mainly associated with basketball and soccer (football). Take a look for yourself.
Flops is Professional Basketball
Penalties in basketball are all subjective and based on contact (personal fouls). A personal foul is called due to illegal contact with an opponent. If a player can convince a referee that contact has happened with an opponent, they may be able to get a personal foul called, earning them possession of the ball with a new shot clock or free throws. This causes players to dive, fall, jump, and even launch the ball in the wrong direction to make it look like they've been fouled.
The NBA, respectably, instituted a penalty for flops. According to the rule, "Players will be served a warning for their first flop but will be hit with fines of $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 and $30,000 for each thereafter." Unfortunately, this rule is rarely enforced and the penalty has not been strict enough to stop flopping in the NBA. Until they find a real solution, you will see even the stars in the game flail around the court acting like they've been hit by a sniper from the stands in order to help their team.
Soccer (Football)
Also called a dive in soccer, flops are rampant and frequently rewarded with penalty kicks, free kicks, and yellow and red cards given to opponents. Not only is flopping used as a tactic to earn penalty calls, it's also used to delay the game. Since the clock does not stop in soccer, players on a team with the lead may pretend to be injured to waste the last few precious moments of a match, illegally robbing their opponent of an opportunity to catch up.
Players known for flopping are unlikely to change. Brazilian star Neymar has countless clips, memes, and GIFs floating around the internet of him rolling around and gyrating in "pain," and since it often works, he won't stop. The only real solution would be severe mandatory penalties for flopping, which would be very difficult to enforce.
What do you think about flopping in sports? Should penalties be more severe to stop flopping from happening?
Also Read:
The 10 Worst Things About Sports: Series Introduction
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