Flopping

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Coaches think we lie to them even when we are not lying to them. At some point, who gives a rat's azz if a coach thinks were are lying.

Jeff, I'm not talking about simply what a coach thinks. I'm also not talking about going over to the coach and telling them my partner screwed up. I'm talking about the credibility of an official that outright lies about their call. I'm talking about this situation. If one of my partners lies about a call, our whole crew has been affected. If I know he made up this call, how do I know he doesn't make up other calls? Should I start watching his area? How do I know he got the proper shooter for the FT, and not just picked out any player because he wasn't watching? Damn! I just missed a call because I'm too busy thinking about these things. The overall perfomance of the crew, and the trust level between crew members has come down a couple of notches.

In almost 20 years of officiating, I've only called this T twice, and one of those was in wreck league. Flopping doesn't happen often, but there are other alternatives to handling this situation. There's quietly reminding the player they're not eligible for Oscar consideration. There's mentioning the play to the coach. There's calling a block if the offensive player falls over the flopper. I'm not sure lying about a call, or making up a call, should be one of the alternatives.