12/21/24
October 18, 2005
Showing some class - finally?: Looks like the NBA is trying to finally (at least it's a start) clean up it's act and make the thugs at least a little bit presentable.
posted by Stealth_72 to basketball at 10:10 AM - 35 comments
I hate how comfortable some NBA fans are throwing around the "thugs" label. Problems with crime and drugs are not unique to the NBA in pro sports, and the attire they're cracking down on here is practically the mandatory dress code among today's teens, whether they are white, black or suffering from scurvy. Are they all thugs too?
posted by rcade at 10:57 AM on October 18, 2005
The irony is that Allan Iverson probably spends more time prepping his appearance than a lot of guys in suits and ties. I don't think of them as "thugs", I think of them as folks with some serious hip-hop fashion sense. Of course, you don't really think they're thugs because of how they dress.
posted by rocketman at 10:58 AM on October 18, 2005
This game became popular because of the inner cities. The attitude and dress are part of the game and one of the reasons I love the NBA. If A.I. wears a suit kids won't start wearing suits. Don't look at athletes as role models children. Anyone with money is a scum bag regardless of wether they dress nice or not.
posted by HATER 187 at 11:26 AM on October 18, 2005
I just wrote about this on my site, and I'll repeat my claim that this policy is senseless. Why should anyone care how a player dresses when he's not playing? If a particular team wants to set a dress code, that's their prerogative. To institute a league-wide dress code insisting that players wear "sport coats" on the sideslines is asinine. If you're not going to be an NBA fan because of how the players dress, then you're not really cut out to be an NBA fan, period. Go watch some golf, ya freakin' nancyboy.
posted by Scott Carefoot at 11:56 AM on October 18, 2005
I'm not really sure how playing for the NBA makes one a "thug." That said, I don't really understand the point of a dress code (it seems that Stern is upholding the image that the NBA is full of thus by suggesting that they need to control the way players dress). At the same time, I don't think the players arguments against it have much merit. My employer expects me to dress in a particular fashion and given that my employer employees me, I meet that expectation. That's not to say an employee must do everything an employer expects. The expectations must be reasonable of course.
posted by panoptican at 12:06 PM on October 18, 2005
Players will no longer be able to wear: -- Sleveless shirts -- Shorts - T-shirts -- Chains, pendants, or medallions worn over the player's clothes. -- Sunglasses while indoors -- Headphones (other than on the team bus or plane, or in the team locker room). Also jerseys and baseball caps will no longer be acceptable attire for postgame press conference I guess Rasheed Wallace will show up naked, cuz this is all he has. So before every game, he's supposed to get up from his playstation, put on a suit, so he can drive to the gym? That's foolish. Nobody should be able to mandate how your dressed on your way to work. The game is their job, not the commute. If you want to clean something up, stop allowing players to flop and stop allowing them to whine to the refs after every whistle. I guess the NBA wants everybody to "be like Mike."
posted by Bill Lumbergh at 12:07 PM on October 18, 2005
Is Joe Forte still in the league? Because he rocked a Scrappy Doo t-shirt on the Celtics bench once that had to cost three or four hundred dollars. Maybe they should just have a dollar amount you have to exceed so we all feel more comfortable with those scary black men. Larry Bird shorts.
posted by yerfatma at 12:13 PM on October 18, 2005
For the $$$ make, they can dress in hoop skirts, and I couldn't care less.
posted by garfield at 12:58 PM on October 18, 2005
Hey, nothing wrong with wearing a suit either - shows a ilttel respect for yourself and the people that pay good money to watch you work. I love the NHL angle - everyone wears a suit. Way better than baseball where fat old guys have to struggle into athletic gear that looks woeful. And in my experience, black men dress better than white guys. Or is that part of a Chris Rock routine? So, I don't see the big controversy the other way. I'm sorry - but sometimes 'I have a right to be comfortable' is trumped by 'shape up asshole! it's not all about you!'
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:09 PM on October 18, 2005
I'm sorry - but sometimes 'I have a right to be comfortable' is trumped by 'shape up asshole! it's not all about you!' ... or in Toronto, 'if we can't look like professionals during the game, we'll look good before and after.' ..sorry weedy, that was a cheap one.
posted by mayerkyl at 01:22 PM on October 18, 2005
I have no problem with a dress code. I do have a problem with the nature of this dress code. It seems completely directed to banning the hip-hop style, especially with the mention of the medallion. Maybe this will backfire against the NBA with players losing their "street cred" and no one buying AI's jersey after he sports the seersucker suit.
posted by bperk at 01:38 PM on October 18, 2005
Of course their employers have the right to mandate that they dress in a particular way. Just like my employer does. Their job is to do what the management tells them to do, its not just to play. Most of these players have personal service language in their contracts as well. IMHO, Any whiny bish that that complains about it is just reinforcing the notion that these guys think they are something special and that laws/rules do not apply to them. Then of course, there is the blatent disregard for facts approach: `We don't really sell to big business,'' Suns guard Raja Bell said. ``We sell to kids and people who are into the NBA hip-hop world. They may be marketing to the wrong people with this.' I dunno about anywhere else, but as a Knicks fan, I expect there are not too many kids dropping the plastic for courtside seats these days. Exceptions should be made if required however, as in the case above where the college hoops player doesn't want to wear Adidas because he blames them for his two knee injuries, if this has any credibility, then he should be allowed to wear the shoes he wants.
posted by sfts2 at 01:43 PM on October 18, 2005
..sorry weedy, that was a cheap one. Cheap, but accurate. Sigh.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:02 PM on October 18, 2005
Dear Mr. Stern: Mr. Lincoln freed the slaves in 1865. Since then, black people are allowed to dress however they want, whether you and your marketing people approve or not.
posted by drjimmy11 at 02:12 PM on October 18, 2005
this just in: David Stern releases example photo of how he'd like black players to dress
posted by drjimmy11 at 02:18 PM on October 18, 2005
drjimmy: I was prepared to be very sorry that I clicked your link, but as luck would have it, I did quite the spit take. Very funny.
posted by NoMich at 02:43 PM on October 18, 2005
All this shows is that Stern thinks he can get more money with the dress code in place than without it. Obviously 'street cred' isn't worth as much as some here would like to argue. Besides, it's not like these guys are real "thugs" anyway - they're professional athletes with private cooks and personal trainers... I really don't get the whole black player white owner angle some are espousing - all professional sports are corporate. This shouldn't be news to anyone.
posted by chmurray at 02:53 PM on October 18, 2005
so the nba is trying to compete with nfl for the title of No Fun League.
posted by fade2244 at 05:33 PM on October 18, 2005
No Ballyhoo Anywhere?
posted by DrJohnEvans at 08:13 PM on October 18, 2005
that's the acronyom i was lookin for
posted by fade2244 at 11:50 PM on October 18, 2005
Most people working today are subject to some type of dress code. Last time I checked the NBA was indeed a business. They generate mega millions each year. Yes fans have to pay alot for tickets and the like, but most of the money comes from corperate sponsers. Stern has every right to call for a dress code. If players dont like it they can quit...
posted by daddisamm at 08:24 AM on October 19, 2005
I cant wait for these old ass white guys to retire.
posted by Drallig9399 at 08:42 AM on October 19, 2005
Anyway when I come to the office but am not actually working I can dress almost any way I want to.
posted by Drallig9399 at 08:54 AM on October 19, 2005
I can't believe how much this has gotten out of proportion. Players (and Phil Jackson) claiming that it's part of a racist agenda, or that the League is stepping outside of the bounds of its role - and the player's rights. For god's sake, Just don't wear headphones, huge goddamn jewellry and t-shirts and shorts! You wouldn't wear that to school, church or work. You don't even have to wear a suit! Man, what a bunch of babies. Look like you respect that the League is bigger than you are and that you're not nicely taking time out of your busy, busy schedule to grace us with your unkempt presence. Act like a damn professional. I see nothing wrong with what Stern is doing. Nothing.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:59 AM on October 19, 2005
Here's a blog entry by Mark Cuban explaining the origin of the dress code and what he sees as the impetus behind it.
posted by holden at 09:05 AM on October 19, 2005
That just confirms my suspicions. The old white guys feel uncomfortable with the players being so black. The old white guy owners don't want to tell their players to be less black. So, the NBA comes out with a rule that tells their players to be less black. The problem is not that their exists a dress code, but that the dress code is targeted so that the black players look "less black". Medallions are no less professional than that terrible orange suit that Jerry Rice was wearing when he announced his retirement. Oh, but that is okay because the tacky orange suit doesn't bother the corporate sponsors as it doesn't invoke images of a hip-hop video.
posted by bperk at 09:37 AM on October 19, 2005
Marks Blog was an excellent read and really puts things in place. I think communication is the main problem with the NBA and NFL, so many players are of a different generation than the coaches, owners, and other execs. Honestly look at the other people that are working during the games, how many of them are told what to wear when they are leaving the game and going home. I can leave work wearing whatever I want to. All of you people so glad they have this dress code need to reexamine when the players are actually working. How can the NBA have control of how players wear their shorts during the game ( they are too long, those damn thugs dont even know how to wear their own damn jersey) and what they change into after actually doing their job. Just because you dont understand our style doesnt mean we need a dress code. So should we dictate what kind of music is allowed to be played in locker rooms. You know rap has a lot of profanity, I'm sure corporate america cant like that. Would AI's rant on practice come across any better because he was wearing a suit. Some of the worst people screwing up this country wear suits all of the time.
posted by Drallig9399 at 09:43 AM on October 19, 2005
Some of the worst people screwing up this country wear suits all of the time. I think we have a winner!
posted by The_Black_Hand at 02:33 PM on October 19, 2005
I see NBA players not as workers but as the actual product and I would like to see what they like to dress like. I don't want to see sheed and AI all gussied up and uncomfortable, i'd rather just see them for who they are and not what Stern wants them to wear/be. It's a bad move for me but there are probably people that throw more money at the league than i do.
posted by tron7 at 03:02 PM on October 19, 2005
Was there anything in the guidelines about wearing fedoras? Cuz, I think fedoras should make a comeback in a big way.
posted by grum@work at 11:02 PM on October 19, 2005
Who decides what's "professional" or "formal" attire. Not in the NBA's case but in general? Who thought the tie was a good idea or looks good at all for that matter? I think we should all wear robes again.... with fedoras
posted by tron7 at 11:38 PM on October 19, 2005
No head gear whatsoever. So, unfortunately, no fedora comeback.
posted by bperk at 08:47 AM on October 20, 2005
I think we should all wear robes again.... with fedoras I'll be next to Mark Cuban in a speedo and a Mavs shirt. And a Fez!
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:53 AM on October 20, 2005
Why is this so weird? Millons of people wear uniforms. The only difference is that companys dont tell their workers what to wear outside of work- which is essentially what the NBA is trying to do. Not really a big deal- but who knows how everything will play out?
posted by redsoxrgay at 07:04 PM on October 22, 2005
Once again, the MLB and the NFL get a free pass from the media in terms of image -- Orioles and Vikings immediately come to mind -- but the NBA is supposedly "thugged out". As someone wrote last week, Stern should watch what he wishes for. Remember the Jalen Rose suit from his draft night. Can't wait.