The mandatory dress code for the players in the National Basketball Association is “a load of crap,” the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan recently said.
I must co-sign that statement. It’s ridiculous for the NBA to try to change b-boys into corporate types. What’s even more ludicrous is the justification for this decision, the suggestion that the dress code will help offer a kinder, gentler NBA to fans, who quite frankly would watch the game if the players were naked.
To suggest that hip-hop clothing or ghetto couture promotes violence is wrongheaded. If someone is violent, then he will behave violently regardless of what he wears or where he comes from. Take those “fans” involved in the Pacers/Pistons brawl last season: they were in the most expensive seats in the Detroit Palace and were wearing slacks and button-down shirts. That didn’t stop them from taunting the players, infamously throwing that cup in Ron Artest’s face and joining a melee they could have just as easily walked away from.
If NBA Commissioner David Stern is so concerned with the league’s image, then he should stop the practice of plucking high school kids out of the ghetto, paying them exorbitant salaries and throwing them to the lions so the owners can clear their billions. If Stern really cares about the NBA’s image, then when is he going to address the issue of scantily clad cheerleaders and dance team members? Each year, cheerleading outfits become shorter and tighter. How that promotes a family sport, I’m not sure.
What about the owners, especially Pat Croce and Mark Cuban? They are magnetic personalities who can be seen in the stands wearing jerseys and jeans. If the new dress code truly is about image, then wouldn’t this rule extend to the executives, too?
Why are young black men being targeted? Because America does not know how to handle young, rich, black men from the ghetto, many of whom don’t care about being accepted by society or serving as role models to anyone. The policing of black bodies in this country is as American as apple pie. People can’t accept that their young sons admire Allen Iverson because he is the essential anti-hero, the opposite of the corporate guy who has his entire life mapped out for him. Players like Iverson represent energy and excitement, and their clothing is part of their identities on and off the court.
In general, it’s not a bad idea to have a dress code, because let’s face it, some people need guidance. As a professor, I am often horrified at what students wear to class. However, I pull those students to the side and discuss it with them, not mandate what they wear. If they choose to listen to me, great. If not, then I assume they are willing to accept the consequences of their style of dress, as most adults do. The NBA’s dress code is just an effort to mask the true problem — the growing number of black millionaires from the ghetto whom the NBA can no longer control.
Dr. Nsenga Burton is a filmmaker and an assistant professor of television and film at Johnson C. Smith University.
Department of Corrections: The previous “Tune N” column mistakenly reported that Latinos soon would be the majority population in the US. It should have read that Latinos will be the largest majority minority population in the US. CL regrets the error.
This article appears in Nov 9-15, 2005.
