by Christian Fann

Created on: January 22, 2009

Out with the bling and chi-ching

In with the

Suits? That's right. For many people, the NBA dress code has done wonders for the NBA as whole. Has it really though? I mean, does clothes REALLY make the man? Or, is it the other way around? You decide. A major problem the National Basketball Association is that, in recent years, the NBA has become less and less about the sport and more, in essence, about the hype and gravitas of large contracts.

The sight of defiant athletes with cornrows, tattoos on each arm and a penchant for cussing out a ref on an arguable call, which is popular today. In the past, the NBA has been about business. Meaning, the image they were trying to project to the community at large was one of glamour and of class. I am sure sitting in his office somewhere, David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA, felt that more people would be attracted to the NBA if the athletes just wore neck-ties, suits and low-cut hair styles. The "hip-hop" style has gotten a bad rep not only on wax, but also in the world of professional basketball. Many people think that because of the emergence of stars such as Allen Iverson, that his popularity, in effect, was a precursor to many of the violent altercations seen in the NBA in the last few years (think back to the Pistons/Pacers brawl in the Palace). I, however, don't believe the dress code has done anything to aid the NBA.

I mean, threads do not change the conduct of a person. All it does is act as smoke and mirrors. It is a false representation, that is, if a person's heart does not match their outer garments. I'm sorry, because an athlete puts on a suit does not make them any more or less of a threat than anyone else. Carmelo Anthony has recently started donning suits, losing much of his "hip-hop" ware; does that make him a different person? Of courseNOT!

I think the NBA is way too protective over its image. It really is, for sure. I think putting on a long-sleeve to cover up a tattoo even if it's a cross; will do NOTHING to enhance the NBA's image. The league as a whole is so afraid of its own shadow, they're afraid to offend people. In doing that, they're restricting people from being themselves, which in my opinion, is the larger injustice. At the end of the day when those players are off the court, they're themselves. Not some expensive Italian cut suit. Not some diamond championship ring. While I believe in the fact that you take "you" wherever you go, I also believe that putting nice clothes on a person does nothing to change the inner "pilot" of a person. Only a stern and hard look at oneself can do that.

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