of SPORTS April 7, 2014 #483 Up next…”Flopping”
After further review…If you doubt the influence that pros have on younger players in college and high school, perhaps watching the NCAA’s March Madness will give you a realistic perspective. Flopping abounds throughout the game of basketball. By definition flopping is “an intentional fall by a player after little or no contact by an opposing player in order to draw a personal foul call by a game official”.
The NBA (National Basketball Association) added a rule in 1997 to cut down on this farcical act. Effectively ignored by both players and officials, the NBA had to begin fining guilty players in 2012 for this ludicrous maneuver. NCAA rule 10, 6f (and a similar National Federation of State High Schools rule) calls for a technical foul, but is seldom called.
In the NCAA Championship Basketball game being played tonight, flopping will be there for all to see. The charging/blocking foul in today’s basketball game is the most difficult call for an official. With so much of the game now being played above the rim because of the size and strength of today’s players, the drive to the basket is more prominent than ever. The debate continues, some players insisting that flopping has its tactical place, while many basketball purists say it is a mockery of the game.
However, these Tunneyside columns/blogs are designed to transform issues from the world of sports into positive messages for everyday living. You might say, “Well, I don’t play basketball, so I don’t flop”. Really? Did you ever intentionally not do your best? Did you ever try to trick others into believing it was someone else’s fault and not yours? Flopping by simple definition is a failure to do your job. In basketball or any other sport flopping (in hockey it’s called “diving”) is a deliberate deception with the attempt to manipulate the official’s judgment.
As a student, or as a businessperson, that tactic is dishonest and a failure to accept your responsibility. We know from studies that when people practice poor behavior in one part of their lives, it often occurs in other aspects of what they do. A defensive player fails to do his job when he feints that it is the other guys fault.
Will you accept responsibility in whatever you do?
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