With the FIFA World Cup in full swing, fans are starting to complain about the flopping happening in matches. However, a former US Men’s National Team striker is not having any of it.
Taylor Twellerman, in a recent segment on Yahoo Sports Daily, defended his sport and called out other sports for the same issue.
Taylor Twellerman Calls Out Patrick Mahomes, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Over Flopping
Twellman played on the US Men’s National Team for seven years (2002-2008), making 30 appearances and scoring six goals. With fans starting to complain on social media about the flopping in this year’s World Cup, Twellman had to respond to defend his sport.
“Here’s where I am on this. Do we have a flopping issue? Absolutely. You’ve never heard me defend flopping ever, and I never will. That’s not the point,” Twellman said. “You cannot tell me that these American football guys don’t know and haven’t been exposed to soccer and football around the world for years.”
“If you really believe that SGA in the NBA is not really flopping, or Patrick Mahomes, the late hit flopping that has become an absolute disgrace in the NFL, and you won’t tweet about that, but you’ll tweet about my sport, that’s when you get my attention,” he added.
.@TaylorTwellman said If you’re gonna complain about flopping in the World Cup, you better bring the same energy for SGA and Patrick Mahomes 💯
The former USMNT striker delivered a rant for the ages on Yahoo Sports Daily 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/M0NVFsYVRd
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 24, 2026
Flopping has long been a part of sports, especially soccer, but Twellman has a point that the annoying act has become much more common in the NBA and the NFL in recent years.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t the only player in the NBA known for his flopping, and the game is officiated differently because of the amount of flops now.
In the NFL, new rules have been put in place in recent years to protect quarterbacks and to prevent teams from taking advantage of that.
Nobody likes flopping, but it’s a part of the game, whether that game is football, basketball, or soccer (fútbol).
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Twellman added he has no problem with the frustration around flopping, he just wants it to be evenly distributed across sports that partake in it.
“I have zero problem, zero problem about you having an issue with flopping in our game. I have a problem about bullying about my sport that used to happen in the 70s and 80s, and now you cannot be educated on it,” Twellman said. “Or you can’t be blind to your sport doing the exact same thing, which is what, you flop to impact the officiating in the game. Fact, not opinion.
“And every sport is doing it now. So, the bullying about the sport, the O’Doyle rules from Adam Sandler movies. You follow where I’m going with this. Miss me with it, it doesn’t work. Complain about flopping. I have zero problem with it, but then you better do the exact same thing for your sport, and when you don’t, you’re fraudulent.”
The group stages of the World Cup are finishing up this week before the knockout rounds begin. We’ll see whether the officials let them play or if the whistle gets a lot of airtime.
