I remember one of the coaches shoving me during middle school basketball camp. It wasn’t a hard push. In fact, there was hardly any force involved. Yet I flailed my arms and indignantly slid across the gymnasium floor. The coach helped me up and applauded my acting because that day we were learning the art of flopping.

Dramatizing physical contact to trick referees into calling a foul on your opponent is not a new tactic in sports, but it has become an epidemic in the NBA. Luckily, the league announced Oct. 3 that serial floppers will be fined after an initial warning. The National Basketball Player’s Association was quick to oppose the fine and plans to file an unfair labor practice charge against the league for imposing “economic discipline against the players without first bargaining with the union,” according to an ESPN report.

Labor disputes aside, the fine is a great idea. Although the concept behind intentional flopping is clever, the act is cheap and purposely manipulates referees and fans. Players who employ this tactic look like they have to resort to playground tricks to make up for their lack of actual skill. I mean, c’mon. This isn’t soccer.

Some players and coaches argue that the new rule is unenforceable and will do little to stop floppers from doing their thing. The enforcement issue could be a problem because players have no way of appealing league decisions, but it’s not like officials are evaluating these charges in real time. Instead, they will review accused floppers on film after the game to decide whether or not they are guilty, which seems pretty fair to me.

Saying this new policy won’t stop players from flopping is ridiculous. It may not fully eradicate flopping, but there’s really no way of doing that. Do players really think it won’t stop them? Wait until they have to pay $10,000. That will certainly make them think twice about being phony crybabies so they can have a couple of free throws.

Flopping has become too commonplace in basketball, and it cheapens the game. Hopefully, the new fines will help the league get back to fundamentals and not allow players to rely on trickery and shenanigans to win games. As long as league officials enforce the rule evenly and strictly, this fine is a great first step toward stopping a disturbing trend.