'Floppers' targetted by NBA the league

The National Basketball Association is cracking down on defenders who intentionally fall after making slight contact with an opponent to try and fool refs into calling penalties. The NBA announced a new rule aimed at eliminating "flopping" on Wednesday. "Flops have no place in our game - they either fool referees into calling undeserved fouls or fool fans into thinking the referees missed a foul call," NBA spokesman Stu Jackson sid. "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." Now a player guilty of flopping will be subject to a warning, followed by a $5,000 fine for a second violation. The fine will increase $5,000 for a third and fourth violation.