Basketball: NBA Dress code

I'm all for the dress code in the NBA.It's not racist as some would say because EVERYONE has to adhere to the new policy

I have no idea why I just repeated myself. Sorry.

[Edited on 10/24/2005 by Gibbs Baby!!!]

the fact is that Stern has a resposibility to the sponsors and the fans to clean up the league as much as he and the Players Union will allow him to .Keep in mind that the Players Union did agree to a dress code,so even they see that there is a problem with the image that some players portray whatever race they are

[Edited on 10/22/05 by ohkayeh]

I was just reading about this dress code.

I can't believe some players want more money to buy clothes.

I just read this last night. Leonard Pitts is my favorite writer.

Personal foul called on the gangsta look


I am trying to feel Marcus Camby's pain. I am also trying to keep a straight face. I cannot do both.

Camby, for those who never read the sports page, is a very tall man who is paid $8 million per annum to play basketball for the Denver Nuggets. You'd think life would be good, but Camby is feeling put upon.

This is because last week the National Basketball Association instituted a dress code for its players. No more sunglasses worn indoors, no more sleeveless shirts, no more headphones during news conferences, no more caps cocked to the side, no more do-rags, no more rumpled sweats, no more chains bearing gaudy pendants the approximate size and weight of a small child. Business casual dress is now required of every player while on team business.

CLOTHING ALLOWANCE?

Camby feels this is an unfair burden. He told a reporter that if the NBA wants to impose a dress code, it should give each player a clothing allowance.

Did I mention that Camby is paid $8 million a year?

Of course, not every NBA player who opposes the dress code has cited financial hardship as his reason. At least two -- Stephen Jackson of the Indiana Pacers, Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics -- have cited race. They think the code is aimed at ridding the league of the hip-hop ''gangsta'' look that is so popular among young black men.

''...I think that's part of our culture,'' said Pierce. ``The NBA is young black males.''

Does he have a point? Is race a factor here? Having given the matter considerable consideration, I have an answer. In fact, I have three:

1) No. The new dress code will also require a wardrobe upgrade for such noteworthy white slobs as Dirk Nowitzski and Steve Nash.

2) Maybe. Given that over 75 percent of its players are black, the NBA can hardly avoid being a microcosm of racial issues.

3) Who cares?

Actually, No. 3 is my favorite. Let us assume that NBA commissioner David Stern is indeed motivated by a perception that basketball fans find it increasingly difficult to relate to a league of Scary-Looking Young Black Men -- especially after last year's brawl between players and fans.

So what? This is business. Stern is entitled -- obligated -- to use any moral means to protect his multi-billion-dollar corporation. If you earn a lavish living from that corporation you should also be concerned.

As for race: Let's grant that for some, all young black men, indeed, all black men, are scary-looking. Still, to believe the dress code is racist, you must ignore that the gangsta look is not popular among middle-aged blacks, but is often embraced by young whites. Point being, this is less racial than generational.

STREET STYLES

Meaning a generation of young black people choosing a style of dress that connotes criminality and street values. And it's childish to say, as Camby did, that ''You shouldn't judge a person from what they wear.'' Unlike skin tone, unlike nationality, unlike sexual orientation, clothing reflects a conscious choice.

So, judging people by what they wear is fair. One has an absolute right to dress in a lime green suit with red shoes and an orange tie. But one has no reasonable expectation of being treated seriously as a candidate for the executive position while so attired. Because the company also has rights, including the right to ensure you represent it well.

Clothes, we used to say, make the man. The man, if he has a lick of sense, realizes this. The African-American man -- so often scorned simply for being -- should understand that better than anyone, particularly if he is fortunate enough to be lavishly compensated for playing a game.

So it's hard to muster sympathy for Marcus Camby. Poor baby thinks he's being mistreated? I can think of eight million reasons he's wrong.

- Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald

source

Personal foul called on the gangsta look


Edit - source

[Edited on 10/27/2005 by Gibbs Baby!!!]

well put

Originally posted by ohkayeh
well put

Yeah, as I said, Leonard Pittts is an awesome writer, and i share many opiinions with him, I just wish that I could put it as eloquently as he does.

it's a joke how some players when thay put the dress code in affect how some players were complaining

i like the idea because after last season's fiasco the NBA stars aren't the best role models in the world so I think it is a good thing for their image

I havne't heard of any guys getting fined for not obeying the new rule yet, have any of you?

Season just started dude

Well, most of the teams have played 5 games over the past few weeks, I thought if someone was goign to make a "statement" about the new policy, they would have done so by now.

Personally, I'm against the dress code. Makes it too difficult to tell who the chumps really are. They ought to be able to wear whatever they want. Some of these clowns are too out of it to realize Stern's looking out for everyone's best interest. Yeah, it's all racist and stuff! The guy's protecting your image, and therefore your money!!!

I feel the same way about all the PC stuff. Let everyone say what they really think. Makes it a whole lot easier to know what you're dealing with. It's as good as having someone wear a sign board that says, "I'm Stoopid!"

I'm apathetic to the new dress code

do i think it really cleans up the image of the nba at all? no, not really. I think its more what a lot of the players do off the court and unrelated to the actual game that really has created the current image the nba has.

Camby needs to realize that the rest of the work world also has to pay for it's own clothes. I make about 40, 000 a year CANADIAN. I still wear what the boss tells me. These grown men have been pampered like little babies. They need to come to work with one of us for a week. I'll bet he likes Italian leather shoes over steel toed work boots. I think some of them are afraid of losing street cred. Those people are looking at it the wrong way. They should be showing young males of all shapes and colours what hard work gets you. Be heroes. You want to look like a punk in your free time go ahead.

I don't care much for the new dress code. If I had to choose a side though, I'd be completely against it. I had no problem with how they dressed, and I'm sure noone else had a problem with it either. But I understand why they are doing this, I think it's just a stupid new rule.

like it or not atheletes are role models, i think that as representitives of a city, league and sport they should dress and look the part, be someone that a young person can look up to and be proud to say that they are his/her hero....

In reality, it doesn't matter what they wear. This dress code is undoubtably a result of the brawl from last season, and the league wants to distance itself from that particular event. Having the athletes (employees) dress in a fashion which makes them appear to be productive members of society will do nothing but clean up the image of the league. In several years, hardly anyone will remember the brawl incident, aside from sportscasters on slow news days and guys who hang out in sports chat rooms. And there is no reason why they can't dress the way that the league wants them to, in officail capacity. Can you imagine if there weren't uniforms? Just let them dress the way they want to on the court, too. That would work out great.

Originally posted by toejam
like it or not atheletes are role models, i think that as representitives of a city, league and sport they should dress and look the part, be someone that a young person can look up to and be proud to say that they are his/her hero....

I agree my good man and say it's about damn they stop dressing like a bunch of thugs and start dressing like they would for a job interview even though they probably haven't had one since college (If they went to college, Lebron James)