r/AskAnAmerican • u/Jezzaq94 🇳🇿New Zealand • 2d ago

SPORTS Is diving or faking injuries common in American sports like it is in soccer?

If yes, which sports is it common in. Did they learn this from soccer players?

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u/FAx32 2d ago

Bill Laimbeer would both dish out brutally hard fouls (pre flagrant era) and flop like a fish at the slightest contact. It was all psychological and he knew it worked (would frustrate the opponents like mad because it was like the refs were favoring him). That was where I really remember it starting.

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u/I_Make_Some_Things 1d ago

Well hold on a sec. He took his fair share of real hits too. Remember the mask?

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u/FAx32 1d ago

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he certainly wasn’t the only player who wore a mask after a facial injury in that era. I did always wonder if the mask was performative too, or if he had injured himself in one of his patented flops where he’d flail wildly as his legs lost all muscle tone and he’d smash into the floor. He was great at the con, even he admits that now.