The NBA wants to do away with flopping and it is hoping its new anti-flopping policy announced Wednesday will eventually end the exaggerated action to fool referees into thinking the player was fouled.
The new policy aims to curb the move that the league wants eliminated, as it only takes away from and even compromises the integrity of the game. The league defined flopping as “any physical act that appears to have been intended to cause the referees to call a foul on another player” in an official release.
“Flops have no place in our game,” Stu Jackson, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, said in a written statement. “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.”
Any player who flops during a regular-season game will be subject to a series of penalties, beginning with a warning for first-time violators. After the warning, players will be fined in increments of $5,000 for each additional flop over the course of the season. The fines increase to $30,000 for a fifth offense.
Here is how it break downs
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 NBA said it would consider suspending any player who violates the anti-flopping rule more than five times in the regular season. The league said it will announce at a later date a separate set of penalties for flopping during the postseason.