Earlier today I posted the NBA press release with their new flopping policy and the penalties to be imposed on the floppers. Now, the news comes out that the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) has said that it will file a grievance and unfair labor practices charge against the NBA over their new policy to punish flopping.

Union president, Billy Hunter had this to say, "The NBA is not permitted to unilaterally impose new economic discipline against the players without first bargaining with the union." He also said that the new rules are "without precedent in our sport or any other sport," and characterized the penalties as "a vague and arbitrary overreaction and overreach by the commissioner's office."

The reactions I've read by the players were mostly positive in that the majority of players feel that there is no place for flopping in the game. I'm not sure if LeFlop would be for it as it would severely limit his game if they actually call him on it. And I don't imagine that Manu Ginobili would be all that much in favor of it. And Anderson Varejao and James Harden might not like it all that much. But the players who don't flop don't like it because they are the ones that get the fouls called on them because of the flopping and so stopping the flops seems like a good idea.

It may seem odd that the union is opposed to a rule that most of the players are in favor of. Flopping is frustrating for most players, coaches, and fans alike. The move to file the grievance by the NBPA was is mostly a procedural one. The union is not necessarily opposed to creating rules to stop flopping, but they aren't in favor of fines being levied for infractions that haven't been detailed in the collective bargaining agreement.

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