Tired of watching NBA players flop around, Mark Cuban is going to fund a flopping study. One of his companies is providing $100,000 to a medical center in Texas, to support 18 flopping months of motion-capture research. "The research findings could conceivably contribute to video reviews of flopping and the subsequent assignment of fines," the biomechanics expert at the fore of this flopping study said.
It's yet another case of Cuban putting his money where his flopping mouth is. He told the Freakonomics blog a while back, "I have suggested to the league that they retroactively assign a flagrant foul to a player for flopping." Supposedly the league's ability to fine its flopping players begins with understand the difference between plain ol' body collision and full-on flopping.
Perhaps Cuban's doing this out of a love of the sport; tired of seeing flopping plays like these and these and this, he's moving to help the NBA get its flopping act together already. But just as likely, Cuban's playing the long game. When LeBron James admits that he can see the advantage in being a complete and utter flopper? Then it's time to arm the refs with better flopping metrics.
"People flop all the time," Roy Hibbert said during the Pacers-Heat series. Because this flopping guy, right?
Cuban funds flopping study [ESPN]
Photo credit of Mark Cuban: AP