Article: “Yes, the Players in the World Cup Do Keep Falling Over for No Reason” by David Papineau

1. David Papineau is British philosopher and professor of science at Kings College (London) and the CUNY Graduate Center, he is the author of the author of the article “Yes, the Players in the World Cup Do Keep Falling Over for No Reason”. I believe him credible because article delves into the philosophy of ‘fraudlent’ conduct in football & that falls under his expertise.
2. Mr. Papineau audience is first time viewers of the world cup/those who are not familiar with the sport. The title alone gives it away – and watches of the sport know why ‘diving’ happens – it is an expected part of the game but to newcomers the “shameless playacting” is foreign, so he takes time to explain it and offer his opinion.
3. I suppose this is an odd way to put it – but it feels as if Mr. Papineau is ‘tattling’ on the conduct in the sport, he’s complaing though he does explain how the conduct came about – he vehemently expresses his dislike of it, e.g “Have these world-beating athletes forgotten their dignity?” and other comments parroting this sentiment have a distinct “look at what they’re doing – isn’t that wrong?” undertone.
4. Mr. Papineau’s purpose with this piece is to shine a light on the dishonest practice & convince the reader to agree that it should be put to bed. He portrays “flopping” in a negative light, argues that it takes away from the game, and compares it to ill begotten social conventions that we know are morally wrong i.e Roman slavery or the lack of worker’s rights in Quatar. Though his main point pertains to football, he ends with a tangent describing his hope that discussions like this will influence Quatar (who is hosting the World Cup) and usher them into modernity.
5. I would categorize this as sports journalism. Features of the genre often include stats on games, interviews with players, the discussion of rules and regulations & the history of the games(s) being played – two of which are present in this article.
6. Mr. Papineau’s writing is presented as an internet article (hosted/presented by the New York Times), there are no other mediums I know of – it is not in print, nor does it have an audio recorded version.
7. Mr. Papineau’s article was published on December 6, 2022, a week ago exactly. The World Cup is currently taking place in Quatar (go Morrocco!) & seeing as his article discuss the morality of flopping/diving in (premier league*) football, I would say it is incredibly timely & will rouse interesting discussion.
8. Mr. Papineau is British, and the British love their football even if Mr. Papineau is not an avid fan, I would expect him to have familiarity with the sport as it is his country’s favorite pastime. Which makes his criticism of the flopping phenomena all the more curious. Has he always held these reservations, has he realized the underhandedness of the practice recently?
9. Mr. Papineau is the opinion that flopping takes away from the game, is “meanspirited”, and unbecoming. he does not care for its addition into the lexicon of professional football & thinks it would be good to do away with it all together.

*In that specific instance, I mean “premier league” as in exclusive, high paying football, not the English football Premier League.*