The Rest of the NBA

[ice grillin you]

oh...and iverson (and camby too, i think) had the audacity to say that the league should give them extra money for a new wardrobe if they expect the players to follow the dress code.  comments like that make me want to take a baseball bat to their heads.
farging ridiculous

anyone who takes those comments serious is missing the point...they obviously arent asking for the money...their point is if stern is gonna tell them what to wear then have him buy the appropriate clothes and theyll think about it...the players dont pay for their team warm-ups or jerseys why would they need to pay for clothes that they are required to wear at the game

[hunt]

why would they need to pay for clothes that they are required to wear at the game

do you pay for the clothes you wear to work???

so do i.


btw, a dress code & a uniform are not the same thing.

[Geowhizzer]

I'm not going to say that the dress code is going to totally take care of the image problem- it isn't, because the image problem is rooted deeper than clothes.

However, I disagree with the premise that there should not be one in the NBA.  In fact, I believe that it WILL help somewhat in improving the image of the NBA to 30-50 year olds, no matter what the race.  I know several African-Americans in my profession that are more fed up with the NBA's "gangsta" image than I am (I also freely admit that I am a casual fan when it comes to the NBA since the days of Dr. J ended some years ago).  Will a dress code make me watch more?  Probably not.

I have to laugh somewhat at the bemoaning of the dress code by the players, because in some ways it mirrors my own when my school tightened the professional dress code a few years ago.  Gone were the sneakers, the "dressy t-shirts" for the men; gone were birkenstocks, sleeveless shirts, capri pants and "dressy shorts" for the women.  Men now have to wear a collared shirt, docker-style pants and dress shoes (which can be a bit troublesome for my large feet- thank goodness for Men's Wearhouse!), women have to wear a dress or dress pants.  Ties are "optional," but are heavily encouraged.  I usually wear one Monday through Thursday, and a golf shirt with the school logo on Friday.

What I find funny is that a lot of what the players are saying more or less mirrored a lot of comments made by the faculty at my school.  I think I even heard the one about letting the school district pay for the new clothes if they were going to force us to wear them.  Of course, after the initial B&M session, we realized that we didn't have a real choice in the matter, bought some new clothes over the summer, and followed the dress code with the new school year.  And, to tell the truth, it does vastly improve our image in parent meetings and other places where we're interacting with the public. 

This is another example to me about the media making a lot about an issue that really isn' t all that important.  The main difference between the players and our teachers is that the players have a lot more weight to pull than we did.  The Sixers won't just tell AI to "find another job" like a few of the teachers were when they complained to the administration.

Anyways... WAR DRESSCODE! 

[Sgt PSN]

I think this dress code thing is kind of stupid.  They've got a dress code for on the court and now they want one off it?  Ghey.

HOWEVER............

It's only business casual attire that Stern wants.  Jeans or slacks and a collared shirt, no bling, no headphones and no sunglasses inside.  So it's not like he's being a total nazi on this one and making them dress in 3 piece suites. 

BUT ON THE OTHER HAND.........

The players have brought this on themselves.  We've all heard them say at one time or another "This isn't a game, it's business."  Ok.  So if it's "business" then you should dress for the occasion, right? 
If they want to be treated like basketball players then they should just go back to playing basketball. 

Yeah, that'll happen. 

[SunMo]

honestly, who cares?

[WEST is GOD]

Me.

[Rome]

They can look like punks and thugs on their on time.

When they're representing their team, city and league, they should dress like professionals.

"Business casual attire" is the requirement.  Oh, dear... how will they ever conform to such stringent rules?

[PhillyGirl]

Policy irks clothes-minded McNabb

By Ashley Fox
Inquirer Staff Writer

If the National Football League adopted the NBA's new dress code, Donovan McNabb often would be in violation. Never mind that McNabb is one of the snazziest dressers in the Eagles' locker room, if not the entire league, meticulously matching his colorful dress shirts and custom-made suits every Sunday.

McNabb wears sunglasses indoors. Bad Bird.

In an attempt yesterday to glean a few witty responses from the playful Eagles quarterback about which of his teammates would be the biggest offenders under the NBA's policy, I found a man who wasn't in a joking mood. McNabb clearly is irritated by the issue. Offended even. Not for himself, but for his fellow professional athletes - including his friend Allen Iverson.

"I think any time you make a rule that stops everyone from doing what they've been doing," McNabb said, "that's tough to swallow... . You're telling a grown man to change up everything he does. That's bad news."

This issue of NBA commissioner David Stern's new dress code has exploded. It has crossed sports, ages, races, socioeconomic groups, states and cultures. For a man who preaches the importance of "globality," Stern has created an issue nearing that size in scope.

For team functions, Stern wants the players to dress more professionally, in jackets and collared shirts rather than baggy T-shirts and jeans accessorized by diamond chains, do-rags, sunglasses and Timberland boots. No headphones. No hats. Essentially, no hip-hop.

Use Michael Jordan as the model. Dress to impress, or at least dress to impress those who value Armani suits and Ferragamo footwear. If that's not your style, too bad. Conform.

This isn't what Eminem meant when he penned "Lose Yourself."

The wardrobe constraints hit McNabb, one of the most marketable athletes in the NFL and as image-conscious a professional athlete as there is, from a number of angles. Yes, he wears a suit after every game, but he also drives a silver H2, listens to rap music, and wears a T-shirt and jeans with a chain to and from practice. What of it?

McNabb worried about the direction the NBA was headed, and the precedent it might set. He mentioned the 19-year-old age limit Stern got into the league's new collective bargaining agreement in the summer, followed by this dress code. What is next, McNabb wondered, a ban on tattoos?

"You can't look cool?" McNabb said. "You have to look like you're going 9 to 5? Pretty soon, they're going to say no sideburns, no mustache, no goatee, no cornrows, and guys will be walking around bald-headed or with a low haircut. Come on. That's unbelievable."

What was really unbelievable to the soon-to-be-30 McNabb is how Iverson, himself 30, has been targeted as the would-be poster boy for the program. Iverson doesn't wear sport coats. It's not his style. Unless he wants to pay a fine, however, he will have to when he's injured, sitting on the bench for a game.

In the past, Iverson has worn an array of throwback jerseys, honoring former great players from his and other sports. Throwbacks are now banned. Other excluded items, according to the memo sent to each NBA team: headgear of any kind, chains, pendants or medallions worn over the player's clothes, sunglasses while indoors, and headphones.

On ESPN.com on Tuesday, the Web site showed a picture of Iverson from a postgame news conference last year, asking how many dress-code violations the reader could spot. There were four. At least.

"The man has spent 10 years in the league, and now they're telling him, 'We want you to do this because Michael Jordan did it,' " McNabb said. "Michael Jordan's a different guy. Isiah Thomas has to wear suits now, but that's how he dressed [as a player]. Michael, Magic [Johnson], Larry [Bird], those are older guys, guys that understood. Some of the younger generation, some of the stuff that's been selling and been selling a lot is the urban wear and some things like that.

"I feel bad for Iverson. Obviously, he is the guy they kind of pinpoint for that. It's sad. You never want to be the one they circle on the TV and say, 'See?' I saw a picture in the paper. They went back to his rookie year when he was drafted and he had low hair. He looked like he was about 110 pounds, and he had a suit on. That was at the draft. It's unbelievable."

McNabb said he thinks that NFL players, because they are relatively unrecognizable under their helmets on the field, are more image-conscious away from game action to try to capitalize on their names. But just because one man wears a suit and another dresses more casually doesn't in McNabb's estimation mean that the clothes make the man.

"At the games, I'm in a suit that at least I got made or I bought, that's comfortable and presentable, but some people aren't like that," McNabb said. "Some people just want to wear buttoned-up shirts with a chain out. I do it when I'm coming to work. It's being comfortable... . You have to let people be themselves, because that's the way people recognize you."

Amid the serious talk about a polarizing issue, McNabb had a single one-liner. Asked about the ban on throwback jerseys, like the Michael Irvin jersey Terrell Owens wore after the Eagles' loss to Dallas, McNabb said: "Those are out of style now."

Otherwise, as he so often is, McNabb was all business yesterday. And his demeanor and professionalism had nothing to do with his attire - a white T-shirt, black shorts and green clogs.

[ice grillin you]

do you pay for the clothes you wear to work???

yeah...but my work doesnt have a dress code...and if they tried to impose one id tell them to buy me the clothes...but they wouldnt do that

what really makes this policy racist is the no chains outside the clothes rule...are you tellin me no female employees can wear a necklace outside their top...

[SunMo]

what's ridiculous is that the penalities aren't just fines, they are also talking about suspensions

suspending someone because they are wearing sunglasses inside?  stupid.

[ice grillin you]

wearing sunglasses inside

yeah that one is ridiculous as well...i can pretty much guarantee if they even thought about suspending someone for something like this david stern would be jumped on by the players union and the aclu so fast his pudgy little head would explode...suspensions will not fly

i hope this backlash continues and blows up in that bastiches face

i will say tho that the players union deserves blame for this for negotiating it into the cba...that slavemaster stern tho is pushing it to far now...does he not recognize that a rich white jew imposing rules like this on young black kids doesnt look to kosher...it might have went a little smoother if he had called in a bunch of nba players such as iverson...mcgrady ect...players that others look up to...and discussed this with them face to face as equals and with respect

[hunt]

do you pay for the clothes you wear to work???

yeah...but my work doesnt have a dress code...

really?
can you wear shorts, a tank top, & a pair of bedroom slippers to work if you want? 

[SunMo]

i just want to know how many people Stern thinks is will attract with the new policy.  How many people are out there deciding to buy tickets now because the players are going to be dressed nicely coming to the game?

and it's not about corporate money either.  the networks pay for the rights based on the money the can get from advertisers and that money is based on ratings.  and no one can convince me that the ratings will benefit by this.

[ice grillin you]

really?
can you wear shorts, a tank top, & a pair of bedroom slippers to work if you want?

just because you arent allowed to come to work naked doesnt mean there is a 'dress code'

[hunt]

really?
can you wear shorts, a tank top, & a pair of bedroom slippers to work if you want?

just because you arent allowed to come to work naked doesnt mean there is a 'dress code'

okay...how about a t-shirt, sweat pants, sneakers, & a baseball cap...can you wear that to work?

point is...most employers have some sort of dress code or dress policy.