NBA Dress Code

[NJTank]

When all else fails use the race card, in a tiem when we shoudl be looking past race way too often the race card is pulled out when it is not appropriate and this is teh latest example. You knwo we have becoem spoiled in society look at picture of teh World Series from the early 60s you see men in suits. Everywhere you went back then you wore a suit, then we became more casual and now casual at work. Give me a break, if I have to wear a shirt and tie every day, Allen Iverson could too.

[quantum]

You know, they are not requiring suits. They just want something presentable. The media is making a huge deal out of the gold chains, sweatsuits, sneakers and ball caps. They also mention not wearing headsets, so as to make the players more approachable by fans. For an organization that has a vacuum in interest since Jordan left, this is a step in the right direction.

[HedleyLamarr]

Didn't some player (I want to say Marcus Camby) recently say that he'll agree to the dress code only if the league offers a stipend to each and every player?

How Sprewell-esque of him....

[nsentv]

Well... I don't care what they have players wearing.

They're still not getting my money.

Good for them.

A lot of posts have been about how it's not about race, because the league only wants to be professional. If this were all it was, I'd have no problem with it. But the impetus behind it, the motivation, is what irritates me.

The league wants to get, if not less black, less 'hip-hop'. I really can't understand how that can't be percieved as wrong. They're essentially saying that an entire culture is unacceptable. I know that hip-hop culture isn't the only one viewed this way, someone brought up 'punk' earlier, but in my opinion, that doesn't make it right.

Believe me, if it was just about professionalism, I wouldn't have a problem. What this is about is the corporations suddenly deciding that they don't want a 'hip-hop' 'thug-like' image surrounding their products and telling David Stern to change his players and their image. And you know what? That just goes all the way back to race, stereotyping and all sorts of other forms of ignorance.

ETA - Marcus Camby's an idiot for saying that.

[CC97]

What this is about is the corporations suddenly deciding that they don't want a 'hip-hop' 'thug-like' image surrounding their products and telling David Stern to change his players and their image. And you know what? That just goes all the way back to race, stereotyping and all sorts of other forms of ignorance.

I still don't see what this has to do with race... if players look like "thugs" based on what they wear, then shouldn't they change what they wear? If I wore a cop uniform in public, and you came up to me thinkin I was an officer, should I be offended? "just 'cuze I'm white don't make me a cop!" and so on...

[zer0dotcom]

People are upset that people can't wear what they want to work? Sorry guys, but there aren't many jobs int he world where you can show up for work wearing whatever you want.

this is a professional league here, not a pickup game. If the league wants their employees (which in most basic terms is what the players are, they are being paid to play Basketball) to show up looking professional, all the power to them.

But when i was chdcking this out, they don't want them in 3 piece suits or anything that extreme, they want shirts with collars and hte jewery toned down. Is it such a bad thing for them to have to put on a collared shirt? Hell, if they look hard enough, they'll be able to find ways around the dress code

[Jigga]

Uh, they "work" in jerseys and shorts...the dress code does not pertain to their "work" gear. I'm all for the Dress Code honestly, but let's not completely whiff on the facts.

The Dress Code is actually pretty "liberal" (I know that's a bad word around here, but it's a different meaning) when you look at it. A simple polo shirt and some nice jeans and dress casual kicks will suffice.

[slapshot]

There would be less of a problem if the NBA declared what people should wear, instead of what they should not.

[zer0dotcom]

Uh, they "work" in jerseys and shorts...the dress code does not pertain to their "work" gear. I'm all for the Dress Code honestly, but let's not completely whiff on the facts.

The Dress Code is actually pretty "liberal" (I know that's a bad word around here, but it's a different meaning) when you look at it. A simple polo shirt and some nice jeans and dress casual kicks will suffice.

Their work doesn't end when they aren't off the court. They are also required while at the stadium to amke themselves availible to the press for interviews, and are representing the league and the teams.

Thats part of the job they have, to be the face, the representivitves of the league to it's fans and the media. I agree with you that a nice shirt and nice jeans would suffice, and reading the press release are alright with what the NBA wants. I think it's just part of being a professional athelete in a professional sport

[FiddySicks]

So far the only one who seems to get it is Lebron James. He said it perfectly. We have a ton of fun playing all day but its still a job, and you should look professional at your job. I gained a ton of respect for James after he said that, to see a guy who is as young as James who truely gets it is a rare treat. Probably the dumbest thing ive heard so far is Tim Duncan calling the rule "Retarded" and "a load of crap". Thats rediculous if you ask me. Tim Duncan has the kind of money where he could line any of the nicest suits in any kind of material he wanted and be as comfortable as he would like to be. He needs to stop being a whiny little bitch and get over it. Ive lost as much respect for Duncan as i have gained for James.

[TFoA]

Ok, it's not that I find the dress code as a bad idea, because it was getting kind of ridiculous, but you can't tell me that that rule about the gold chains and durags ain't racist. Because, be honest, how many white people do you know besides Jason Williams and Kip from Napoleon Dynamite wear durags and chains? None. So yeah, I see it as racist in that facet.

But my opininon is that you shouldn't just go anywhere such as an NBA game dressed like you're just going to see the homeboys or somethin. This is a huge event, any NBA game, because you're going to be infront of thousands, maybe 10s of thousands of people every night. You shouldn't be looking like Ghetto Bill in that case, you should look

nice. I read in the Terrence Moore's article in the AJC that he mentioned that freakin' hip-hop stars such as Jay-Z, Nelly, and of course that lame negro Diddy dress better when they go to events than most of the people in the NBA. So if people in the hip-hop community are starting to dress nice, then you should too, if you're in the NBA trying to emulate them.

[Sterling84]

Just a couple of quick thoughts.

1) Most of the focus and uproar has been on eliminating the big jewelry and bandanas and crooked ball caps and stuff.

But I'm sure they don't like it when a white guy like Steve Nash shows up courtside looking like he just rolled out of bed either. They want to clean up the look as a whole.

2) The topic of getting less hip hop, or forcing the league to market against their fanbase ..and how that might be wrong etc........

Hard facts y'all: The hip hop fan base doesn't pay the bills. Your average hip hoppin' teen who actually thinks Iverson's dress "speaks" to his culture......yeah, he doesn't have the money the NBA is interested in. The NBA wants to cater to people who can afford $100+ seats, season ticket packages, watches 4 games a week etc. The real money comes from the corporations, the box suites, the TV revenue. And some of you have said yourselves.....the TV ratings have been in the toilet for years and only getting worse. If catering to the hip-hop or thug fans is a strategy.....it hasn't worked AT ALL. It's not a thug who watches a Clippers/Grizzlies game at 10pm on a Wednesday night on TNT. Are you kidding? Its some accountant with money on the game, no life, or someone on his fantasy team. In short....it's a white guy. Identifying with the hip hop culture is not profitable. And that opens a completely other can of worms.....that being that becoming a hip hop icon is a one in ten million chance opportunity. And that opportunity is seldom used to establish true wealth to shift the power....but often wasted on 16 Humvees. There is precious little cultural reinvestment from the individuals we are arguing about. It is completely within the bounds of logic for a huge corporation like the NBA to acknowledge where it's bread is buttered and appease their actual customers. Sorry. It's just true. Right? Not for me to say. But it makes sense.

3) Why are these "star" players even planning on spending so much time on the bench, not dressed for a game? Planning on being hurt? I'd be like...."what do I care? I ain't gonna miss any games anyway."

[WSU151]

So far the only one who seems to get it is Lebron James. He said it perfectly. We have a ton of fun playing all day but its still a job, and you should look professional at your job. I gained a ton of respect for James after he said that, to see a guy who is as young as James who truely gets it is a rare treat. Probably the dumbest thing ive heard so far is Tim Duncan calling the rule "Retarded" and "a load of crap". Thats rediculous if you ask me. Tim Duncan has the kind of money where he could line any of the nicest suits in any kind of material he wanted and be as comfortable as he would like to be. He needs to stop being a whiny little bitch and get over it. Ive lost as much respect for Duncan as i have gained for James.

What's funny about that is Duncan is always protrayed as someone who seems to be anti- hip-hop.

[Andy]

So far the only one who seems to get it is Lebron James. He said it perfectly. We have a ton of fun playing all day but its still a job, and you should look professional at your job. I gained a ton of respect for James after he said that, to see a guy who is as young as James who truely gets it is a rare treat. Probably the dumbest thing ive heard so far is Tim Duncan calling the rule "Retarded" and "a load of crap". Thats rediculous if you ask me. Tim Duncan has the kind of money where he could line any of the nicest suits in any kind of material he wanted and be as comfortable as he would like to be. He needs to stop being a whiny little bitch and get over it. Ive lost as much respect for Duncan as i have gained for James.

What's funny about that is Duncan is always protrayed as someone who seems to be anti- hip-hop.

I think it's funny he used the word "retarded."

I know this debate is pretty much dead already, but I'd just like to add that I thought it was funny that at my high school, people in almost every sport (basketball included) had to wear a shirt and tie to school the day of a game.

[Discrim]

I remember at my school, the boys basketball team had to dress nice the day of a road game...I don't remember if this applied to home games too, though. They were the only team in school that did this: the football players wore their jerseys, most of the girls teams (basketball, soccer, softball, etc) wore jogging suits or somethin they wore everyday, with the softballers occasionally takin a page out of the football playbook and wearing their jerseys the day of a game.

only time I got in trouble cus of how i was dressed was...the day of a sophomore game. basically, I was in nearly full uniform sans helmet, shoulder pads, and cleats. My rationale was that I wanted to save some time for some reason...I did make it through a couple classes before I was forced to change back into jeans. oddly enough, not a damn one of my teammates was even in their jerseys

[winghaz]

I think the reason for the dress code is because the NBA wants to appeal to two entirely different worlds -- the hip-hop world and the corporate world.

The problem is, NBA players have gone so far hip-hop that corporate has been forgotten. The NBA wants players to remember who's signing their endorsement paychecks and to look the part.

A couple of thoughts relative to that:

1. The hip-hop world is almost entirely African-American, so I can understand why this dress code can be seen as racist. But hip-hop doesn't cover all African-Americans. Also, every now and then you see a white guy dressed in hip-hop fashions, so it's not exclusively African-American. But it sure looks dorky on that white guy.

2. I get the feeling the NBA could care less about average Americans. It seems as if they've totally left Average Joe American out of their thought lines since Larry Bird retired as a player. Now, how would Average Joe American dress if he were an NBA player on the sidelines?

[yh]

I think it's funny he used the word "retarded."

I think it's pretty safe to say he's got some charitable work with and for schools for the developmentally disabled in his future. I'm sure he's going to get a ton of negative pub for that crack.