NBA Dress Code

[Jurassic Referee]

Well, it took a hour and 25 minutes longer than what I predicted to myself when I first saw this thread. Must be getting old.

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by Dan_ref

Hey Jeff, you're of a younger generation.

How do you dress to your basketball games?

I am not that young now. I am not 18 years old and a millionaire. I did not come from an urban background and from the same generation of people that dress like Allen Iverson.

In my job I have to wear a suit most of the time. I can at certain times wear business casual if I am meeting with customers or it will depend on who I am meeting with. I do not like to wear suits to basketball games (I do not like the space and cleanliness in many HS locker rooms). I usually wear one of several polo shirts and a nice pair of pants when I am working varsity games. I sometimes wear a very nice pair of jeans depending on where I am working. If I am working a lower level game, I might wear a sweat suit (usually with an association logo on it) or something really laid back. I tend to wear a lot of things that signify an association or have something with the IHSA logo on it.

Peace

[RookieDude]

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee
Well, it took a hour and 25 minutes longer than what I predicted to myself when I first saw this thread. Must be getting old.

I have no idea what you are talking about JR...

BTW...did you see that player last night on ESPN saying this new dress code is racially motivated?

[Dan_ref]

Jeff,

Iverson is 30, which I believe is close to your age.

It seems to me that you dress at least business casual when going to your games. I know I do. In fact it's expected of me (not that it makes a difference btw), and I would bet it's expected of you. For sure you're expected to wear a suit when you represent the people who pay you IRL.

If I'm expected to dress to a certain standard, and you're expected to dress to a certain standard, why shouldn't Steve Nash, Bill Walton's son or Allen Iverson be expected to dress to some standards imposed by the people who pay him? When he's representing them of course.

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by truerookie

Mr. Rut, What is wrong with a little change? You cannot compare construction to the NBA one is done indoors the other outdoors under different conditions. In both sweat is produced. However, construction is hot and dusty; nba air conditoned building.

I can make any comparison I want to. I do not know if you went to college, but it was rare that I would see a professor of mine in a dress or suit. Many times they wore jeans or sweat suits. I did not see suits very often and this was in the education profession. I know Doctors that do not wear suits and ties to work. I think it depends on how you look at this. I am an official and I do not have a dress code. Now their might be some expected dress, but people that do not wear suits in their regular life are not coming to games all dressed up. I wear nicer close to games because I feel it makes me more presentable, I would object to a dress code for everyone that officiates too.

Originally posted by truerookie
People have to accept change regardless of their upbring. What do you say about those African-Americans who do make it and turn their backs on their own culture huh? Mr. Stern, IMO is not out of touch and age does not have anything to do with it IMO.

I really do not know what you meant by "turning your back on their culture." You are going to have to explain that one.

I just think the NBA is being hypocritical. They allow hip hop and pop culture to invade their game all the time with the entertainment during games, All-Star Games and events and videos and tapes they promote. Are these artists wearing business casual? Are they even wearing suits when they perform on stage at an NBA event? Even the most clean cut artists are not wearing a suit or dress. If they have a problem with the culture, than play Frank Sinatra all day and see how many fans you turn off. Frank always wore a suit when performing. The Chairman of the Board should fit the image the NBA is looking for perfectly.

Look, when you insist on hiring 18 year olds and give them millions of dollars you are going to have a different attitude of people and how they dress. You have many players that are much older that do not dress that way at all. I think Grant Hill is a good example of that. Actually some of the best dressed people that I see are African-Americans. I know when I go to officiating functions, I get a lot of complements on the suits I wear. Sometimes I feel like I am overdressed because just about everyone in attendance is not dressed in a suit or anything like what I have on. I am also one of the youngest individuals in the room. So it is not all about age and culture. I just think the NBA or any league as a dynamic involved that it is silly to have dress code of this nature.

Peace

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by Dan_ref
Jeff,

Iverson is 30, which I believe is close to your age.

It seems to me that you dress at least business casual when going to your games. I know I do. In fact it's expected of me (not that it makes a difference btw), and I would bet it's expected of you. For sure you're expected to wear a suit when you represent the people who pay you IRL.

I know people that are 50 and they dress to varsity games as if they rolled out of bed an hour before the game. Allen Iverson did not come from the same background that I came from either. I would never have the tattoos and wear the things he does. I am also not a millionaire where my income is based on my image and I work in an entertainment industry either.

Originally posted by Dan_ref
If I'm expected to dress to a certain standard, and you're expected to dress to a certain standard, why shouldn't Steve Nash, Bill Walton's son or Allen Iverson be expected to dress to some standards imposed by the people who pay him? When he's representing them of course.

Well the teams pay them, not the league directly. So if a team wants to come up with a policy that requires I have no problem with that. Each team has a different culture and backgrounds at work. There is a different type of fan that attends Chicago Bulls games than attends the Phoenix Suns games. I think this should be a team issue, not a league issue. Once again, it is before and after the games. Even the Chicago Cubs has a different kind of fan than the Chicago White Sox.

Peace

[Dan_ref]

Originally posted by JRutledge


Well the teams pay them, not the league directly. So if a team wants to come up with a policy that requires I have no problem with that.

That's silly.

The league is a business organization made up of the team owners and it's only purpose is to financially benefit the team owners by, among other things, setting policy for behavior on & off the court.

If you think "the league" has the right to prevent the spurs from signing Milwaukees's #1 draft pick then you have to agree they have the right to set a dress code.

Pretty simple imo.

[RookieDude]

Originally posted by JRutledge
I (do not) work in an entertainment industry either.

IMO, that's probably the best point you have made JRut.
That it is an entertainment industry.

The industry is out there to entertain us...so you might think there would be different standards in dressing as compared to a Fortune 500 business.

But wait, isn't this entertainment industry out to make a buck or two in the process of entertaining us?
Don't they have the right, no responsability, to create an image that will induce profits?

C'mon, we have always known the billionaires are entertaining us with millionaires...call the millionaires "slaves" to their job...but they really are "free" to leave anytime they wish (as Chuck suggested in the record store comment).

I really don't care how they dress...but evidently, someone does, and that someone may have the power to make it happen.

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by RookieDude

IMO, that's probably the best point you have made JRut.
That it is an entertainment industry.

The industry is out there to entertain us...so you might think there would be different standards in dressing as compared to a Fortune 500 business.

But wait, isn't this entertainment industry out to make a buck or two in the process of entertaining us?
Don't they have the right, no responsability, to create an image that will induce profits?

C'mon, we have always known the billionaires are entertaining us with millionaires...call the millionaires "slaves" to their job...but they really are "free" to leave anytime they wish (as Chuck suggested in the record store comment).

I really don't care how they dress...but evidently, someone does, and that someone may have the power to make it happen.

Whether someone has the right or not is not the issue. I am sure they have the right to do something that does not make the policy right. The NBA is even trying to tell people whether the players wear headphones. I think that is a bit much now. I have no problem with a dress code. I just think the NBA needs to realize that you will have fans that are not from Corporate America that buys their video games and sneakers with their players on them and other merchandise that is not the suit wearing people. Most of us that attend games in the arena are never going to see what players wear to and from games. It is the TV audience that is going to watch those games and it will not be the executives of large companies that will if Ben Wallace wears headphones to a game. If you want to appeal to Corporate America so much, why not tell the players they cannot wear corn rolls or other non-conventional hair styles?

Peace

[SeanFitzRef]

Just my two cents....

Most everything that is done involving millionaires and billionaires is done at a level that most of us can't compare to or understand.

The NBA is now in an 'image reparation' mode, because their league image has gone way down since the massive preps-to-pros movement that started in the early 90's. The league started to lose face with the corporate fan, the one's spending large amounts of money for sky boxes and courtside seats. If you pay attention to who was spending the money for courtside seating over the last few years, there are more and more entertainment types filling those seats, such as Jay-Z, Nelly, Usher, and Jamie Foxx just to name a few. With Jay-Z and Nelly getting into the ownership business, the 'Hip Hop' culture has made its way into the boardrooms of the NBA.

How can the NBA get Joe CEO and Mary VP back to those courtside seats? Make the product more appealing and 'mainstream'. What 'product' does the NBA have to market? It really only has the players. If the players image is 'thugged out' or 'Hip Hop', the suburban parents aren't going to bring their kids in to the games or embrace the players, although the kids are going to emulate these fashions and embrace the players on their own. It really has nothing to do with race, because I see it happening on both sides.

Athletes always want to emulate entertainers, who always want to emulate athletes. Fans want ot emulate either. Just life as it always will be.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by RookieDude

I have no idea what you are talking about JR...

BTW...did you see that player last night on ESPN saying this new dress code is racially motivated?

LOL

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by SeanFitzRef

How can the NBA get Joe CEO and Mary VP back to those courtside seats?

They're called "ringside" seats in Detroit.

[RookieDude]

why not tell the players they cannot wear corn rolls or other non-conventional hair styles?

Sure, why not?

The company I work for regulates my hair length. In fact they regulate the length of mustaches, sideburns, and do not allow "soul patches"(the patch of hair under the lower lip, for you non-hip dudes'info).

We also cannot have facial hair...of course that is understandable, since we have to be able to wear a gas mask on a quick response. (Nuclear Power Plant Tactical Response Team)

Also, no nose rings or tongue piercings allowed at my place of employment.

If I don't like it...then I won't let the door hit me in the a$$ on the way out.

So you think I would feel sorry for a bunch of spoiled millionaires if they were told they had to wear their hair a certain way?
I don't think so.

[SeanFitzRef]

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee

They're called "ringside" seats in Detroit.

My fiancee hates when I refer to Detroit that way, but she knows it's true.

LOL

[SeanFitzRef]

BTW, ThickSkin posted his feelings earlier in this thread that emphasize my point exactly about the image of the NBA.

I'm @ the same age as some of the older NBA vets, and have grown up and dealt with the changing fashion trends from a parental and authority standpoint. I have to explain to my 15 year old son over and over that "the belt is supposed to be worn over the waist, not under the butt!" He feels it's cool to look like everyone else, but once I told him where this particular 'fashion statement' originated (in prison), he has adjusted some. It is a daily battle, but I'm getting somewhere.