If there’s one thing billionaire mogul and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban cannot stand, it’s bullsh*t. So with all of this acting, and more specifically flopping, that’s been going on in the NBA lately, you better believe he’s going to speak out.
But now it’s been revealed that he’s doing a little more than just that. According to ESPNDallas.com, Cuban is funding Southern Methodist University with $100,000 to study the phenomenon that is flopping.
The study itself is an 18-month project where they will determine, through video and other motion-capture techniques, the difference between actual collisions and flopping. It’s good to know that they’re putting a little science behind this.
SMU biomechanics expert Peter G. Weyland said this about their newest endeavor:
“The research findings could conceivably contribute to video reviews of flopping and the subsequent assignment of fines.”
And in case you still don’t believe it, just take it from Mark himself. He took to Twitter to announce his big plans.
While the NBA has been doing their part to prevent these flops from happening, by implementing $5,000 fines for each offense, commissioner David Stern has also recently admitted that it’s still not enough to stop players from being soft.
“It isn’t enough, it isn’t enough. You’re not going to cause somebody to stop it for $5,000 when the average player’s salary is $5.5 million. And anyone who thought that was going to happen was allowing hope to prevail over reason.”
As much as we hate to say it, he’s right. The collective effort between Stern and Cuban shows just how big of an epidemic this has all really spiraled to become. Something needs to be done and whether it’s from more research or more penalties, the NBA will put an end to it. Believe that.
