Performance of Sports: Flopping

This week’s performance in sports observation is going to be short, sweet, and to the point. Flopping. What is it? Why do they do it? And for crying out loud, can we make it stop? Please!

Flopping (defined by everyone’s favorite, Wikipedia) is, “an intentional fall or stagger by a player after little or no physical contact by an opposing player in order to draw a personal foul call by an official against the opponent. The move is sometimes called acting, as in ‘acting as if he was fouled.’ Because it is inherently designed to deceive the official, flopping is generally considered to be unsportsmanlike. Nonetheless, it is widely practiced and even perfected by many professional players. The player that commits the act is referred to as a ‘flopper.'” So, to put it in other words, a flopper is someone who pretends that they were fouled when, in reality, they weren’t and sometimes weren’t even touched. See also, soccer players (no this is not a link to a different article, I’m just pointing out that soccer players are notorious for flopping).

What is the benefit of flopping? Well, it could hurt their opponent (thus helping them) by having a foul called and sometimes free throws. Maybe they also do it to rile up the crowd. Maybe they do it because they are insecure about their skills as a basketball player (I’m not a huge fan of basketball but I watch it occasionally, I know the game). What is the negative of flopping? It’s so annoying. Why are basketball players being so dramatic on the court? Join theatre! Check your drama at the door. I watch basketball to watch the game, not to watch unnecessary drama. That’s what [enter drama tv show] is for. So please, stop the madness and just play the sport.