MIAMI— Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is taking on flopping, and one of his companies is putting up more than $100,000 to study the problem.
Researchers at Southern Methodist University say that Radical Hoops Ltd., a Cuban-owned company, has awarded a grant to fund an 18-month “scientific study of the unsavory practice of player flopping in basketball and other sports.”
“The issues of collisional forces, balance and control in these types of athletic settings are largely uninvestigated,” said SMU biomechanics expert Peter G. Weyand, who leads the research team. “There has been a lot of research into balance and falls in the elderly, but relatively little on active adults and athletes.”
Researchers will investigate the forces involved in typical basketball collisions and look at how much force is required to cause a legitimate loss of balance, among other flopping-related matters.
The NBA has been fining players who are deemed guilty of flopping in order to try and trick an official into making a certain call, and the matter will be discussed more next week when the league’s competition committee meets.
ccvv
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
