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Keller @ Large: Crack Down On Political 'Flopping'

BOSTON (CBS) - NBA commissioner David Stern did an unusual thing for a corporate big-wig this weekend - he told the truth.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

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A reporter asked Stern to comment on the $15,000 fine they laid on the coach of the Indiana Pacers for claiming, quite accurately, that his opponents, the Miami Heat, were "the biggest flopping team in the NBA."

For those who don't know, flopping refers to what players often do when they make incidental contact with an opposing player, which they try to turn into a foul against the opponent by flinging themselves to the floor as if the other guy had driven a truck into them.

Stern says the league punished that coach because he was trying to manipulate the refs, which is frowned on.

But he went on to say he thought it was time for the league to crack down on phony flopping. "It's only designed to fool the referee," noted Stern. "It's not a legitimate play."

I couldn't agree more.

But countless players throughout the league do it, including a few Celtics (yes, Paul Pierce, this means you), because they can get away with it and it gives their team an edge.

Stern says a few years ago he brought up the idea of fining and suspending repeat offenders, but was vetoed by the team owners.

Still, there's no reason why we the people can't set up our own penalty system for candidates who practice the political equivalent of phony flopping.

I'm talking about partisans who file ethics complaints against their enemies on spurious grounds; candidates who claim their opponent is "ducking" questions, when it's really just that the answers are not to their liking; electoral hopefuls who claim they're gaining momentum and insist they'll carry the fight all the way to the convention, seconds before they pull the plug on their hopeless campaigns; and so on.

For each phony political flop like this, what if we docked these folks a week's worth of campaign donations?  Proceeds to charity.

But who would take on the task of sorting through all this political flopping?

I'd volunteer, but there are only so many waking hours in a given day.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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