|
As the clock expires on the first quarter of the NBA season, the jury is still out on most of the hot-button controversies from the beginning of the season. With Shaq only recently active, it's hard to judge the talent- and ego-ridden Heat - especially given their completely predictable coaching shuffle. Phil has the Lakers playing decent basketball, but hasn't yet found anyone ready to consistently step up and be the Number Two to Kobe's Dr. Evil; meanwhile, Larry's Dream Job with the Knicks has been anything but.
The exception to that rule is the NBA dress code. A source of much huss and fuss from the players in the opening weeks, the desire to avoid "business casual" attire seems to have faded considerably. Outside of a recent buzz over the length of game shorts (a silly thing for the league to get upset about, given that they issue the game-wear to teams via Reebok) the players seem to have forgotten what a burden it is to dress professionally.
This isn't entirely surprising. At the end of the day, this is a business (as we hear so often that it's becoming a clichŽ) asking its employees - who are more than amply rewarded for their efforts - to dress in what the working world sees as a professional manner, at any time when they could be construed to be representing the team. As Jazz star Andrei Kirilenko put it, "We're like businessmen, and businessmen wear coats and suits."
What was most interesting about the negative responses from players - and the reactions varied widely across the league - was whom they came from. Tim Duncan, long framed by the NBA PR machine as a player and person of character, called the policy "a load of crapÉ I think it's basically retarded." He also suggested that should he ever be inactive he would stay in the locker room rather than sit on the bench in a sport coat and shoes.
There has been particular attention paid to the ban of " chains, pendants, or medallions worn over the player's clothes." Stephen Jackson called it racist, saying "almost 100 percent of the guys in the league who are young and black wear big chains." He's not alone in this opinion, yet plenty of young black men have no problem with the code.
"No, it's not a big dealÉ We are going to have fun, but this is a job and we should look like we're going to work," was young black man LeBron James' take.
Melvin Ely (also certifiably young and black) took it a step further: "I'm actually glad they're doing it because some people come to these games looking wrong."
The outcry is by no means limited to African-American players. Wally Szczerbiak, undoubtedly among the whitest players in the league (though out-shined by teammate Mark Madsen) thinks "they're coming on way too strict."
At the same time, some players regarded as symbols of the "hip-hop" generation supported the code. Stephon Marbury bought suits for his teammates (extras for the rookies). Jalen Rose told the Canadian Press, "I'm a dresser, so it's not going to be that much of a change for me."
Before we label this as racist policy on the part of the NBA, we should ask why the policy is being instituted.
The prevailing opinion is that Comissioner David Stern is grasping at straws to clean up an image that hit a low point after the now-infamous brawl in Detroit. Indeed, if the policy was merely an effort to make up for that travesty, Stern would be fighting a forest fire with a Super Soaker.
Grant Hill offers a different perception, perhaps an old-timer's perception at age 33. When he came into the league, he says, there was "sort of an unwritten code or law or whatever, that you look niceÉ guys would go all out with designer clothes and so forth."
Indeed, when Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson was on the bench and not in uniform, they generally wore a sport coat. Michael became a fashion icon, to a certain extent, and was always tastefully and professionally dressed. Sure, there was Rodman, but dressing in approximately "business casual" attire was the norm in the NBA as recently as five or ten years ago.
It seems likely that Stern felt compelled to establish the code as he saw dress trends moving in an increasingly less professional direction. Whatever the players may say about his intentions, the fact remains that his job is to sell a product, and if that product's consumers want a professionally-dressed package, then that is what Stern should deliver.
What's more, it took only 20 games for the hubbub to die down, which makes this observer question the depth of the concerns. In the end, I think Antonio Davis (Knicks forward and NBA Players Association President) knows players best:
"I think anything you impose on players, the first reaction is going to be, 'Nah, I don't want to do that'É [eventually] guys will come in and feel good about how they're dressed, [and] hopefully they'll start to embrace it."
Apparently it only took 20 games for all the critics of the dress code to happen across a full-length mirror and realize what most young men learn as they prepare for job interviews: dudes look good in suits.
|
Back to Matt's Home Page.
|