New rule change addresses flopping in high school basketball

A new rule change to address flopping in high school basketball has been adopted by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

This revision to high school basketball rules was one of 12 changes approved by the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee at its April 9 to 11 meeting in Indianapolis. All recommended changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors and will be added to the NFHS Basketball Rules Book for the 2024-25 season.

The most notable was the flopping rule, which the Ohio School Athletic Association confirmed to The Blade it will adopt.

Faking being fouled, or flopping, is defined in Rule 4-49-1 as when a player simulates being fouled or makes theatrical or exaggerated movements when there is no illegal contact. Examples include but are not limited to, embellishing the impact of incidental contact on block/charge plays or field goal attempts, using a “head bob” to simulate illegal contact, and using any tactic to create an opinion of being fouled to gain an advantage.

“[The committee] is hoping to get those dishonest acts out of the game,” Billy Strickland, the executive director of the Alaska School Activities Association and chair of the Basketball Rules Committee, said in a news release.

The new language also establishes a procedure for officials to issue a team warning on the first instance of faking being fouled. The warning is recorded in the scorebook and reported to the head coach.

Any additional instances will result in a team technical foul and not a player technical foul.