NBA Dress Code Scrutiny
The wait is almost over and the 2005-06 NBA season is about to start in a few weeks. At last I do not have to deal with those boring golf shows in my favorite sports channel. What's not so exciting about my Phoenix Suns team is that Amare Stoudemire is going to spend the next four months rehabbing his knee after a microfacture surgery on the heels of his max contract extension.
While it's definitely not a good news to me, it will also be an opportunity for the team to mesh properly. There are only five remaining players from last season returning to the Suns roster: reigning MVP Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa, Jim Jackson and Stoudemire. Stoudemire's injury is a blessing in disguise to the rest as his offensive touch has to be taken cared of by someone. And it means likelihood of increased playing time for everyone and keeping the roster intact without having to waive players in the preseason lineup. Think about Lucas Tischer and Dijon Thompson or even Pat Burke.
Now let me talk about the recent implementation about the dress code instituted by the NBA spearheaded by David Stern. It has drawn a lot of reaction from everyone. Tim Duncan calls it "basically retarded". Stephen Jackson, Allen Iverson, Jason Richardson and Raja Bell also expressed dissatisfaction on this ruling. Many of them looked at it as racist; most of the affected players are black Americans whose hip hop fashion is better supported with dangling silverware and baggy pants. I can't imagine players like Yao Ming, Nick Collison, Kyle Korver and Jake Tsakilidis adopting such things. In fact, Russian Andrei Kirilenko supports it.
While the objective has been clear -- to clear up the reputation and display a new image of the NBA -- dress code was less an issue for reforms. There are drugs and personality issues to be targetted first. Just recently Boston Celtics guard Tony Allen threw a punch to a Chicago man, for no apparent reason. Allen Iverson, Chris Webber and Kareem Abdul-Jabar on posession of marijuana, as I read in Alternet.org. And look at the whole Portland Trailblazers team whose players are often appearing on headlines for all sorts of bad news: driving under influence (DUI), caught overspeeding, domestic battery and posession of marijuana. These people are superstars with huge contracts, wardrobe endorsements, whose jerseys are selling hot and are looked up to not by the fans but fellow and upcoming NBA players.
I thought this is a problem that needs more solution; dress code is a cosmetic solution which cannot hide the inner chaos. It's like in the Army where you need to have your shoes and belt polished, hair trimmed to the max, uniforms neatly pressed before appearing in a platoon briefing.
Apparently when the news went out, players reacted negatively in different sorts of reasons:
1. Why newcomers need to pay thousands of dollars for suits when their stay in the league is almost not guaranteed.
2. It's racist.
3. It's uncomfortable to wear especially when coming off practice and hitting the road the next day.
Some even suggested a stipend from the NBA to pay for such clothing. As if it's so expensive that purchasing one will make them unable to pay for the bills and feed their family, no offense to Latrell Sprewell.
When we were in high school, Dennis, my classmate always gets stuck at the guard post for coming in the campus without tucking in his shirt. We were then like robots unable to express ourselves and abiding by the rules. Talking about tucking in shirt, it's also in the new dress code which injured players are allowed to be in their bench wearing shirt and jeans. But shirts have to be tucked in. That's why Tim Duncan, a superstar who often prefer to keep things on himself, minced no words, "A load of crap... basically retarded". He even pondered on staying at team locker room on games where he cannot play.
Call the dress code touching the egos of Earth's popular men and have them act like kids following simple instructions, but could it be too much?
The NBA is a myriad of players with diverse personalities and skills. Outside looking in, a lot of hopefulls want to come in but could not, simply because they aren't fit. Get invited to a preseason team camp is a dream come true but to be waived feels like the whole world is against you.
The persons who make the NBA look what it is right now should possess qualities of desirable citizens. Basically they are entertainers who wow the crowd, while receiving money more than 99% of the global population cannot get in their lifetime. They stay healthy, become popular and it seems that they have nothing to ask for. But from them, the viewing public needs their act to serve as good models.
Stay away from drugs, preserve good family and community relations and simply said, stay away from trouble. Could be easier said than done because I am not a celebrity and trouble seems to stay with celebrities.
Maybe very few players from NBA are obviously thugs, but it's the single rotten tomato in a bag of fresh tomatoes that ruin the package.
Dress code can wait.
While it's definitely not a good news to me, it will also be an opportunity for the team to mesh properly. There are only five remaining players from last season returning to the Suns roster: reigning MVP Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa, Jim Jackson and Stoudemire. Stoudemire's injury is a blessing in disguise to the rest as his offensive touch has to be taken cared of by someone. And it means likelihood of increased playing time for everyone and keeping the roster intact without having to waive players in the preseason lineup. Think about Lucas Tischer and Dijon Thompson or even Pat Burke.
Now let me talk about the recent implementation about the dress code instituted by the NBA spearheaded by David Stern. It has drawn a lot of reaction from everyone. Tim Duncan calls it "basically retarded". Stephen Jackson, Allen Iverson, Jason Richardson and Raja Bell also expressed dissatisfaction on this ruling. Many of them looked at it as racist; most of the affected players are black Americans whose hip hop fashion is better supported with dangling silverware and baggy pants. I can't imagine players like Yao Ming, Nick Collison, Kyle Korver and Jake Tsakilidis adopting such things. In fact, Russian Andrei Kirilenko supports it.
While the objective has been clear -- to clear up the reputation and display a new image of the NBA -- dress code was less an issue for reforms. There are drugs and personality issues to be targetted first. Just recently Boston Celtics guard Tony Allen threw a punch to a Chicago man, for no apparent reason. Allen Iverson, Chris Webber and Kareem Abdul-Jabar on posession of marijuana, as I read in Alternet.org. And look at the whole Portland Trailblazers team whose players are often appearing on headlines for all sorts of bad news: driving under influence (DUI), caught overspeeding, domestic battery and posession of marijuana. These people are superstars with huge contracts, wardrobe endorsements, whose jerseys are selling hot and are looked up to not by the fans but fellow and upcoming NBA players.
I thought this is a problem that needs more solution; dress code is a cosmetic solution which cannot hide the inner chaos. It's like in the Army where you need to have your shoes and belt polished, hair trimmed to the max, uniforms neatly pressed before appearing in a platoon briefing.
Apparently when the news went out, players reacted negatively in different sorts of reasons:
1. Why newcomers need to pay thousands of dollars for suits when their stay in the league is almost not guaranteed.
2. It's racist.
3. It's uncomfortable to wear especially when coming off practice and hitting the road the next day.
Some even suggested a stipend from the NBA to pay for such clothing. As if it's so expensive that purchasing one will make them unable to pay for the bills and feed their family, no offense to Latrell Sprewell.
When we were in high school, Dennis, my classmate always gets stuck at the guard post for coming in the campus without tucking in his shirt. We were then like robots unable to express ourselves and abiding by the rules. Talking about tucking in shirt, it's also in the new dress code which injured players are allowed to be in their bench wearing shirt and jeans. But shirts have to be tucked in. That's why Tim Duncan, a superstar who often prefer to keep things on himself, minced no words, "A load of crap... basically retarded". He even pondered on staying at team locker room on games where he cannot play.
Call the dress code touching the egos of Earth's popular men and have them act like kids following simple instructions, but could it be too much?
The NBA is a myriad of players with diverse personalities and skills. Outside looking in, a lot of hopefulls want to come in but could not, simply because they aren't fit. Get invited to a preseason team camp is a dream come true but to be waived feels like the whole world is against you.
The persons who make the NBA look what it is right now should possess qualities of desirable citizens. Basically they are entertainers who wow the crowd, while receiving money more than 99% of the global population cannot get in their lifetime. They stay healthy, become popular and it seems that they have nothing to ask for. But from them, the viewing public needs their act to serve as good models.
Stay away from drugs, preserve good family and community relations and simply said, stay away from trouble. Could be easier said than done because I am not a celebrity and trouble seems to stay with celebrities.
Maybe very few players from NBA are obviously thugs, but it's the single rotten tomato in a bag of fresh tomatoes that ruin the package.
Dress code can wait.
posted by Unknown at
1:47 AM
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