NBA Dress Code = Attitude Change?
Proponents of school dress codes might be encouraged by this recent article from ESPN the magazine.
Remember when the NBA instituted a dress code three seasons ago? Remember all the caterwauling? Players balked at having to wear collared shirts and sensible shoes. And they were even less pleased with the no-chains-or-medallions clause. The code was called fascist and racist and, in the immortal words of Marcus Camby, just too damn expensive.
Step into an NBA locker room today. The only sounds you hear are the rustle of silk ties being knotted and the snap of cuffs being linked. "I hear guys used to come to games wearing sweat suits," Thunder forward Kevin Durant says, shaking his head in disbelief. "That just isn't professional."
...The makeover is more significant than a few more notched lapels. "You have to give some credit to the dress code," says Lakers guard and NBA Players Association president Derek Fisher. "But the style of NBA players is different because the guys are thinking bigger. They're expanding their minds beyond basketball."
...If there's anyone happier than David Stern about the new trend, it's every European player with any fashion sense. Before the dress code was implemented, American players mocked the formfitting attire of their foreign teammates. Time was when Warriors center Andris Biedrins thought he was getting dap when someone said, "That suit is tight." But that was "tight" as in "too small," not as in "That looks sharp." No more. Says Hawks center Zaza Pachulia: "Euro style used to be a bad thing. Now guys like it."
Now, it probably should be said that I imagine a lot of players are exchanging one form of vanity for another...but it does speak toward how simple things like dress can affect the attitude and culture of a place or environment.
Remember when the NBA instituted a dress code three seasons ago? Remember all the caterwauling? Players balked at having to wear collared shirts and sensible shoes. And they were even less pleased with the no-chains-or-medallions clause. The code was called fascist and racist and, in the immortal words of Marcus Camby, just too damn expensive.
Step into an NBA locker room today. The only sounds you hear are the rustle of silk ties being knotted and the snap of cuffs being linked. "I hear guys used to come to games wearing sweat suits," Thunder forward Kevin Durant says, shaking his head in disbelief. "That just isn't professional."
...The makeover is more significant than a few more notched lapels. "You have to give some credit to the dress code," says Lakers guard and NBA Players Association president Derek Fisher. "But the style of NBA players is different because the guys are thinking bigger. They're expanding their minds beyond basketball."
...If there's anyone happier than David Stern about the new trend, it's every European player with any fashion sense. Before the dress code was implemented, American players mocked the formfitting attire of their foreign teammates. Time was when Warriors center Andris Biedrins thought he was getting dap when someone said, "That suit is tight." But that was "tight" as in "too small," not as in "That looks sharp." No more. Says Hawks center Zaza Pachulia: "Euro style used to be a bad thing. Now guys like it."
Now, it probably should be said that I imagine a lot of players are exchanging one form of vanity for another...but it does speak toward how simple things like dress can affect the attitude and culture of a place or environment.