...is what you'd say if you were Stephen Jackson or any of these other idiots who are protesting the new NBA dress code policy. In case you're like me and ignore the NBA as much as possible, here is the policy in a nutshell:
Clarence Page, syndicated columnist, wrote:Now, bling is officially unhip in Stern's NBA. Unless approved by one's team, players must dress in "business casual when attending to league business or traveling as a team," Stern declared. That means collared shirts, turtlenecks, sweaters, dress slacks, khakis or "dress jeans" are OK. Shorts, T-shirts, sleeveless shirts, sneakers, flip-flops, work boots and gaudy jewelry are not.
My favorite is Marcus Camby, who is asking for a dress code stipend to supplement his eight-digit contract, which obviously isn't enough (although in fairness, I have no idea how much a suit costs if you're 6'10").
The NBA is suffering somewhat because of a loss of interest from wealthier fans and conservative advertisers, and now it's trying to clean up its deservedly godawful image. The fact that these guys are objecting to wearing normal business clothes and would rather look like thugs from the hood and/or Mr. T revivalists tells me the NBA has a LONG way to go in fixing its image. Clothes don't make the man, but they do contribute to perception, especially when that perception is fired up by a multi-millionaire asking for money to buy a suit. Millions of wealthy Americans wear a suit and tie to work, it won't kill you to do the same fellas. The NBA doesn't want rappers dressed like circus clowns, they want professional athletes.
So anyway, I thought there should be a thread to mock these imbeciles.
There was some guy over on the Basketball Cafe who was saying that the NBA is racist b/c of this but he got beat down pretty quick.
I was with this up to a point - that point was "Turtlenecks and gaudy jewelry". Turtlenecks? Why don't you just say mock-Ts and ascots as well. And who is going to say what is gaudy and what isn't?
Sure button-down conservative types buy tickets but they also buy tickets to prize fights and hockey games. These guys don't want to be conservative when they are enjoying themselves. The NBA also has tremendous synergy with sneaker companies and they should want to promote the sales of their own merchandise. Why stop a player from wearing a Kicks throwback on the bench when it is really free advertising? How much goodwill with Nike and Reebok did Stern destroy? Just stupid.
Watch out. Race threads get frozen pretty quick here...
7/26 - Cafe goes down:
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I don't even want to get started on this, but I will anyway.
First of all, I have something that lies between zero and no interest in the NBA. The principles of the sport are gone... it's just dunk after dunk, basket after basket. I know there's strategy involved, but I have a tough time noticing it.
So the NBA is somewhere in the neighborhood of 89% black. Apparently it's racist to say that these guys are not allowed to look presentable. Sorry, you can't wear a $50,000 diamond-studded platinum necklace with a hub cap attached to it, but you're going to have to wear a $500 suit.
Of course it's absolutely absurd that Camby wants more money to pay for his clothing... it's certainly fitting himself into a stereotype that I have always thought was unfair. But these athletes are hardly role models. When you're out in front of fans and you look like a drug dealer for the bloods instead of a professional, it certainly sends a message that the NBA should be avoiding.
The NBA is the officiating body and is the reason these guys are making the millions of dollars that they do. Of course Stern can enact any policy he wants. When's the last time you saw a baseball player's underwear sticking out of their pants? Reportedly, Jim Thome used to, but Jimmy Rollins kept giving him wedgies (that's a joke folks).
The Knicks already have their own team dress code that's even stricter than Stern's... and from what I recall, they're run by Iseah Thomas. Charles Barkley said that this dress code was the best thing to happen to the NBA in years, and he's the one who said that basketball players aren't role models.
Well, they aren't. In the post-Jordan era, no one cares about the thugs throwing balls around the basketball courts. "Class" in the NBA checked out with Jordan.
If you're a battery, you're either working or you're dead....
Mookie4ever wrote:There was some guy over on the Basketball Cafe who was saying that the NBA is racist b/c of this but he got beat down pretty quick.
I was with this up to a point - that point was "Turtlenecks and gaudy jewelry". Turtlenecks? Why don't you just say mock-Ts and ascots as well. And who is going to say what is gaudy and what isn't?
Sure button-down conservative types buy tickets but they also buy tickets to prize fights and hockey games. These guys don't want to be conservative when they are enjoying themselves. The NBA also has tremendous synergy with sneaker companies and they should want to promote the sales of their own merchandise. Why stop a player from wearing a Kicks throwback on the bench when it is really free advertising? How much goodwill with Nike and Reebok did Stern destroy? Just stupid.
Fair enough...but on the flipside, how important is it to sneaker companies' advertising that a guy wears sneakers when he's not playing? You have ten guys on the court wearing sneakers, in apparel, etc.
The other big thing is audience. The wealthier, conservative, suburban fans are simply more valuable to advertisers than urban fans, and its the conservative fans that have been leaving. Cleaning up its image might very well help the NBA bring back these fans and their larger disposable incomes, and if that happens, the value of ad deals will go up, improving revenue. Its why the West Wing has stayed on the air for as long as it has: its ratings have been declining for a while, but it retains the higher-educated, higher-income audience that doesn't tune in for other shows. I actually think this makes really good business sense.
Although, you could make the case that changing your clothes doesn't mean you suddenly have class and integrity. But the dress code is at least on the right track.
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by WharfRat » Wed Oct 26, 2005 7:07 am 
