The National Basketball Association and the National Football League, and Major League Baseball have been one the most popular leagues to watch in the United States for decades. It has produced some of the world’s most beloved athletes and used to be a massive cultural force. All the young people watching the NBA admired the league’s stars and wanted to be just like them, so much so that a song about the league’s biggest star, Michael Jordan, became a hit back in the 90s by encouraging little kids to “Be Like Mike.”
Back in its heyday, the athletes playing in the NBA were the original influencers. Since the league’s star was bald, many other players and college athletes decided to shave their domes. When a player came out wearing the latest cool shoes, every young kid in the US wanted a pair just like them. Sadly, when Magic Johnson announced his HIV diagnosis, the world mourned. However, given what a high-profile celebrity he was, millions of fans learned about HIV, how it is spread, and how it can be prevented. Seeing America’s basketball sweetheart fall ill brought this serious, deadly illness into the mainstream in a way that went on to teach others how to protect themselves. Move over Instagram because that is some serious influence.
Enter the Age of the Basketball Diva
As the league grew, the salaries of the players grew, too. As those salaries grew, so did the heads and egos of those players. There used to be one or two players on the floor who played with a whiney sense of entitlement, but today, it is now just the norm. That is just about how every player plays the game. And every player should be embarrassed.
It is not uncommon to see LeBron James get bumped by a player, and, instead of continuing to play the game and earn his 9-figure salary, he stays at the other end of the court to whine about this injustice to the ref. As he is doing so, there are four of his teammates at the opposite end of the court continuing to go for the win. One of the games best is thinking he can negotiate an after-the-fact foul. Does he know he looks like a child? If he does not, one thing is for certain: He does not remotely care.
Whining aside, it is not as bad as the flopping. Oh, the flopping. Any player who feels a stiff breeze not only flops to the ground like a confused trout, but they throw their hands up, clutch their pearls, and writhe on the court in a dramatic display like they are a modern-day Vivien Leigh. It certainly doesn’t help that the referees call fouls that don’t exist while rewarding players for their histrionics. The players, along with those refs, should be embarrassed. Here’s why:
It is cheating: Hey, multi-millionaire? You were not fouled. To throw yourself on the floor and cry like a spoiled toddler to get the call is lying. You are lying to get your team an advantage in the game instead of relying on your skill on the court to do so. You are out there cheating to gain a competitive edge, and you are making a fool of yourself in the process. For shame.
Your mother is watching: Your mom did not raise you that way. You did not end up in the league because you cried and sniveled to get there. You got to that level because your parents raised a hardworking, competitive young individual who put the time in each and every day to get to the highest, most elite level of the sport. Those parents are watching. And though they are likely thrilled that your talent earns you so much money, do them proud and play the game with integrity.
Your kids are watching: Plenty of men in the NBA are dads, and that means that this is the example they are setting for their children. This teaches kids that if something is not going your way, lie and say that you were wronged. What happens if the child of an NBA player grows up to be a banker and makes an error at the office? Instead of working with management to correct their mistake, will that guy instead grab his knee and drop to the ground while pretending to be in pain?
Other people’s kids are watching: As Charles Barkley has always believed, the players in the NBA famously do not want to be role models to the youth of the world. However, that does not change the fact that they certainly are. Since flopping in the NBA is often rewarded, everyone’s kids see that lying and cheating are a great way to get what you want. And the sad part? Every man on the court got there thanks to hard work. Busting your hump to achieve success is a great message to send to children, yet the players have decided that bellyaching is the way to go instead.
The league has become a punchline: Fans of the NBA are still tuning in, so perhaps the players do not care that a lot of viewers are laughing at them. It is not uncommon to accuse someone of faking an injury by saying, “You’re taking a worse flop than an NBA player.” Even the announcers get in on the laughs by stating that in addition to the Emmys and the Oscars, there needs to be a dramatic, theatrical award for some of these players who take a knock on the court and catch a case of the vapors.
Then Why Do They Do it?
To gain an understanding of why players act like cranky teenagers on the court, there really is a simple cranky teenager response: They do it because they can. There is no consequence for pretending a foul took place when one certainly did not. It is quite the contrary. Instead, players who fake a foul are rewarded by having a foul called. All this does is cause everyone on the floor to do the same to help level the playing field. It would not surprise anyone to learn that young players are coached to ham it up if an opposing player’s pinky brushes against their outer arm.
What Can the League Do About It?
The short answer is plenty. The long answer? Read on.
Stop calling those flops fouls: If flopping works, then, of course, the players will continue to do it. If the refs need a little help, they need to study the laws of gravity. If someone barely touches or does not come close to touching a 6’8″ tall 250-pound man, then that man will not fly into the air. Tossing a guy that size would require a small forklift because of science.
Create a flopping foul: Oh, pretty please. Please, NBA, create a flopping foul. The world knows that you can see the melodrama from a mile away. When it happens, call it out. If flopping has the opposite intended effect, then players will have to get back to relying on their skills to win a game. And while you are at it, NBA, why not create a whining foul as well? If LeBron wants to stay and have a chat with the ref while the game continues on the other end of the court, go ahead and T him up. It would also be pretty cool if these fouls had equally humiliating names such as “Unnecessary Flopping” and “Illegal Use of Whining.”
Let the players play: It is not too much to ask to let the game be a little bit physical. When it comes down to it, these are fully grown men in top physical shape. These men can take a bump. If a foul made no impact on the possession, then let a player play. After all, rubbing is racing.
Dream On
Since the NBA is a business, it may help them to know that many of their fans, also known as customers, find these games hard to watch when the refs call a brush of the shoulder a foul as quickly as they call a farcical dive. When the customers no longer tune in, then they will start seeing an impact on their bottom line.
Realistically, until that bottom line sees a substantial hit, the league will make no changes. As the age of the flopping grown man grew, so did the NBA’s profits. Until the multi-millionaires start feeling a sizeable hit in their pocketbooks, the league will only continue to devolve until they eventually draft Meryl Streep. The top players over the last few decades are some of the NBA’s best-known drama queens, so if anything, the world is going to be treated to more of the same for the foreseeable future.