[epark1281]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2181671

that's right folks,
pretty soon, you might not see that sideways hat and pelle sweat shirt on your favorite atlantic division point guard. Apparently, Allen Iverson will need to trade in his Sean Johns for a shirt and tie. The commissioner of the NBA has determined that there should be a certian level of professionalism on the game today.

Look, i've got no problem with this dress code for a few reasons, but some NBA players take exception to this proposal. There are a few players in the NBA that you won't see WITHOUT a suit, at least most of the time. Shaq is always sporting some tight formal threads, FinFin is rarely seen walking from the bus with sweats on and Kobe seems to pick a nice jacket and shirt over jeans most of the time. So it would seem appropriate that players like Allen Iverson and Childress (who might not even wear a suit to church), would seem so offended by it.
You never saw McAdoo in sweats, Ewing, Drexler, Magic, Jordan, Chamberlain, the big O, the list goes on. That was before Basketball went hip hop.
It's like this. Dr Naismith back in 91, 1891 that is, tacked up two peach baskets and used a soccerball to play a game of skill and strength. That all started basketball, which most of yall already know.
But basketball didn't just pop out on the scene and take off. There were a handful of decades before people even knew what the heck was up with the sport. Back in the day, players weren't paid an average of 6 million bones to play the game. They got paid enough to go and find a summer job. These were part time atheletes that showed up, not for money, certianly not for fame, but for the love and respect for the game. Look, bottom line is that we got some spoiled @$$ players in the L now who haven't found enough time to respect the game. With a payroll of 6-10 million, i'd dress up in a clown suit if i had too. Players in the L are lucky to be there, lucky to be playing a game they love (i'm assuming), and lucky to be getting the money that they're being paid.
But should i expect as much from AI? I'm sure he's a good guy, but you're talking about somebody who refused to come off the bench cause he was an "all star", "what all star comes off the bench?", right of the top of my head? There are three i can think of, and they're all on one team, Finley, Manu, and Duncan. Manu came off the bench in the 05 playoffs, finley will now play 6th man, and Duncan came off the bench after an injury 2 seasons ago.
So while the sentiment might not be the same for all players across the L, and some may even welcome the change, think about this; somewhere out there there's a single mother holding up 2 jobs making minium money and taking care of 2 kids in school, but AI's got a problem with suits. Somewhere out there a father is struggling to make ends meet with a terminally ill son, but AI's got a problem with suits.
Respect the Game, Respect the L, be a professional.

[gary]

I agree with alot you are saying. Respect is the issue here and looking professional is big. You want to represent your team and league in a fashion that everyone will look upon with respect.

But the league is not the players mama. They should not be telling the players what to wear. Pretty soon the league will be telling them what to eat, and who they should be going out with. What they've done is take away the personal lives of the players. If this is allowed, then what next? You can't control grown adults, this is not a right that you have as the league. I understand the want and need for a dress code, but this seems like one domino that may set off a million more. It's an invasion of privacy, and should not be allowed.

[epark1281]

The league has every right to enforce whatever they feel is significant to it's league. If they feel it will improve the image of the league, then they can do whatever they want. If AI doesn't like it, he can go play for Serbia-Montenegro. If that's the case, then the company i work for is my momma, cause i'm told how to dress too. The majority of Corporate America has a dresscode. Why? Because they want to maintain a certian level of professionalism, cause people gotta care about where they at, you gotta respect your company's wishes, for the GOOD of the company. What kinda message does it send when Sheed shows up to post game interviews in pj's and huge @$$ headphones on? This, "I'm just here to make the money, i don't need to respect the League." These players work for their owners, and the owners answer to the League. This is a proposal that most likely the players association and the L will work on together, and if it passes, who's momma is who's? Grown men making millions per year should find something ELSE to gripe about than having to wear a suit to work. And what are we talking about here...an extra 2 hours in a suit? 15-30 min for the post game, 30 min from the bus to the locker room? That's too much to ask? And invasion of privacy? If that's the case, then I, along with the rest of corporate america have a case to wear my pelle's to work.

[gary]

Again true. You have owned me on many a points. I should clarify one of my points though. In the original contract that all of these players had signed, there is no dresscode. For all the NBA could have cared, the players on the bench could have walked out in tighty-whiteies, and there would be no policy against it. Yes it would be frowned upon highly, but no policy against it.

I also don't believe that the NBA can not be compared to a normal corporate job. These guys have a skill that is irreplacable. Who are you going to find to replace a player like AI? ( Childress is a different story). With people like us, they can find someone to replace us tommorow. With the NBA players, the skills they represent are a commodity. Therefore the common place rules of corporate america do not apply to them, in full.

I got a question though, why not just make everybody suit up? It's not like they don't have uniforms? And they have to tell them who's in IR and can't play, so it's not like i'm going to pull a fast one on you and sneak a player into the game that you thought wasn't playing, so why can't they just require that everybody that has a uniform, wear their uniform?

[epark1281]

It's true that Allen Iverson is IMMENSELY talented, but that doesn't mean that he's not responsible for his actions any more or less than Joe Smith is. These guys don't have a "normal" job, true, but to place this kind of work on a pedestal would be a mistake.
"With the NBA players, the skills they represent are a commodity",
no more than petroleum is a commodity, no more than clothing is a commodity, or medicine, or health services. In the end, Sports is entertainment, a diversion, and escape. If we were to have no basketball tomorrow, or football, or baseball, there would be a lot of angry people, but life would go on. If the world was missing law enforcement, medicine, emergency health care, then we would be in trouble. But i feel you on the bench uni's. If you are part of the team, you suit up, it's a sign of commitment, a sign of unity.

[mofo]

dress code is bs..i think some players are so rich they just might pay fines all the time lol..that's what happens when u have a on old fogie loser like david stern running the show..what is it a dictatorship?

[epark1281]

nba's hiphop culture at it's best.

[epark1281]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/4980150
"6. The entire concept of Allen Iverson's press conference a few years ago defiling practice is nothing compared to what will happen if the NBA really does attempt to implement a tie-and-jacket dress code for all players traveling or representing teams at functions.

What this really means: In the 21st century, the concept of NBA players wearing jackets and ties to travel in and to all team functions is a little much. It isn't so much the rights of players as much as times are different and men in general don't wear ties and jackets as often as they used to. Having said that, t-shirts or jerseys and jeans falling off their hips likewise isn't appropriate. They have the same responsibility as other professionals to look the part.

Wearing a $5,000 suit as some athletes prefer is over the top, but for a professional athlete to at least wear a sport shirt and slacks to and from work isn't asking too much. When hanging out at home or out with family and friends, people can wear whatever they want. But when at work, a modified dress code is hardly over the top."

[Fabolous]

i actually find it fun when the NBA players dress casually. shows their fans that theyre jsut like everyone else.

[epark1281]

i actually find it fun when the NBA players dress casually. shows their fans that theyre jsut like everyone else.

actually, if they were like "everybody else", they would wear at least some business casual threads to work, just like "everybody else"
just how "like everybody else" are nba players? How many jobs get a post-work day interview? How many jobs get a private charter airplanes? How many jobs pay 8 digits (maybe, CEO, Business Tycoon, Actor/Actress, Singer, or Contract Killer, which, by ANY stretch of the imagination, are NOT normal jobs)?
So how are they, "just like everyone else?"

[epark1281]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2194537
here we go...
*edit
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2193984
"Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby added that the players should receive a stipend to pay for the clothes."
What, his millions per year can't afford him a pair of $40 slacks and a $50 button down shirt?
Meanwhile, Spreewell is joining campaigning against the dress code with AI because there is absolutely no way he can now afford to feed his family if he'll have to use his earnings to buy a suit.

[epark1281]

one more
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5001128

[epark1281]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2197001
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2197012
obviously some players (prince) don't even realize you are not required to wear suits but something "business casual"
As for wally's comments, movie stars don't work for an organization like the NBA, and if, during a contract Brad Pitt is fulfilling, Warner Brothers tells him, "throught the duration of this contract, if you are participating in Warner Brother sponsored events outside of shooting filim, you are required to wear a suit and tie.", you know what?, he's wearing a suit and tie.

[GO!zilla]

I agree with alot you are saying. Respect is the issue here and looking professional is big. You want to represent your team and league in a fashion that everyone will look upon with respect.

But the league is not the players mama. They should not be telling the players what to wear. Pretty soon the league will be telling them what to eat, and who they should be going out with. What they've done is take away the personal lives of the players. If this is allowed, then what next? You can't control grown adults, this is not a right that you have as the league. I understand the want and need for a dress code, but this seems like one domino that may set off a million more. It's an invasion of privacy, and should not be allowed.

the league is the players daddy and the players union is the mama...

they can do whatever seems fit but of course with the approval of the mama.

[badboy yardy]

i think david stern got annoyed with the fact that whenever the players would step out of the team bus to the arena they would be shown on camera wearing do-rags and gigantic headphones on their heads. it's definitely hip-hop and the NBA doesn't want this perception as their off-the court image. the players don't realize that hip-hop doesn't sell to the general population and they want their players to look not professional per se, but just to cater to the widest audience. They can just wear khakis and a simple button-down shirt, I don't see whats the big deal really.

i think that marcus camby quote was hysterical.

[epark1281]

i think david stern got annoyed with the fact that whenever the players would step out of the team bus to the arena they would be shown on camera wearing do-rags and gigantic headphones on their heads. it's definitely hip-hop and the NBA doesn't want this perception as their off-the court image. the players don't realize that hip-hop doesn't sell to the general population and they want their players to look not professional per se, but just to cater to the widest audience. They can just wear khakis and a simple button-down shirt, I don't see whats the big deal really.

i think that marcus camby quote was hysterical.

we just have to many whiners in this friggen league. AI, for all his rhetoric, just boils down to this, he doesn't like the idea that he might be "controlled", and he's not going to let the "man" tell him what to do.

[JohnnyMoon]

I support the Dress Code, and I appreciate the fact that NBA is attempting to look more professional in front of the media. But I don't really care if it gets enforced or not. Players wearing bandanas and long silver chain necklaces never really bothered me.

[joonage]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2194537
here we go...
*edit
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2193984
"Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby added that the players should receive a stipend to pay for the clothes."
What, his millions per year can't afford him a pair of $40 slacks and a $50 button down shirt?
Meanwhile, Spreewell is joining campaigning against the dress code with AI because there is absolutely no way he can now afford to feed his family if he'll have to use his earnings to buy a suit.

hahahaha ..... wow ..... what spoiled brats -_____- ....

... Spreewell can't feed his family??? ..... even tho he sucks .... he still gets paid .... thousands ... maybe even millions ....


.... wow ... yet again .... spoiled babys >.<

[Divine Hand]

1) Is image everything and the bottom line the almighy? I call this for what it is: a business move. So spare me the speeches about honor, professionalism and courteousy. This move is motivated by one thing: cash money.

2) Making and then passing minor rules gives the illusion that great change and problem-solving is taking place, when actually the opposite may be true. By changing the perception of the problem, most will be convinced and take away a feeling of satisfaction. But those who dig deeper realize changing the perception of the problem should not be confused with changing the reality of a problem.

3) Is basketball a white collar profession? Medicine and law absolutely are. Answer this honestly: when you think about basketball players, do you honestly expect to see suits and ties? Probably not. Everything has its place in life. Some jobs seem more casual and athletic and others are more professional. From a logical standpoint, an athlete should look athletic and/or casual.

4) Players find themselves losing more freedom and rights as time goes by. You have to be 19 to join the league, you lack freedom of speech (fines/suspensions) and now lack freedom of dress. Authority has the power to do as they please. But just because people can make rules and force people to follow them is not to be confused with having the respect of others. It is similar to a parent telling his or her child, "Because I said so." Such reasoning leaves a lot to be desired. Players having their own personalities was one of the main draws of the league. Now individuality and expression has been cut some. Take 3 steps closer to McDonaldization, as clonage begins.

5) If it's not broke, don't fix it. Passing rules that are not necessary and significant is similar to flexing muscles for the sake of flexing them. Hardly a respectable way to use authority.

Therefore I am against the dress code.

[kensai]

Funny, nobody seems to get pissed when Brett Farve shows up in a sweaty grey cut off practice shirt.