Yet more "R" word nonsense

The NBA is instituting a dress code for its players:

Players will be required to wear business-casual attire when involved in team or league business. They can't wear visible chains, pendants or medallions over their clothes.

Sounds reasonable to the average layman Joe Six-Pack, right? Not to Indiana Pacers guard Stephen Jackson:

Jackson, who is black, said the NBA's new rule about jewelry targets young black males because chains are associated with hip-hop culture, and he said the league is afraid of becoming "too hip-hop." In protest, he wore four chains to the Pacers' exhibition game against San Antonio on Tuesday night.

It gets better. Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson had this to say:

"I feel like if they want us to dress a certain way, they should pay for our clothes," he said. "It's just tough, man, knowing that all of a sudden you have to have a dress code out of nowhere. I don't think that's still going to help the image of the league at all."

How 'bout that? Iverson, who makes countless millions of dollars, wants his employer to PAY for his newly required dress clothes. How many of YOU have asked your employer for a "clothing stipend"? How many of YOU have publicly complained about your company's dress code?

Added Golden State guard Jason Richardson: "They want to sway away from the hip-hop generation. You think of hip-hop right now and think of things that happen like gangs having shootouts in front of radio stations."

Gee, where would people get THAT notion, huh?

"Hey, a guy could come in with baggy jeans, a do-rag and have a Ph.D., and a person who comes in with a suit could be a three-time felon. So, it's not what you wear, it's how you present yourself."

Ask Iverson, as numerous hosts on Philly's WIP sports radio have rhetorically, why "The Answer" dressed up in a high-priced suit for his court appearance on drug and weapons charges. I mean, hey -- it's "not what you wear," right? Why didn't Iverson wear baggy, low-riding shorts, numerous huge gold chains over an oversized b-ball jersey and a crooked cap to court?

Hilariously, Jackson and fellow Pacer Ron Artest are two of the biggest complainers about the dress code. Yep -- the same Jackson and Artest who began a near-riot last year when they fought Detroit Pistons spectators in the stands, and were suspended for 30 games and the rest of the season, respectively.

Posted by Felix at October 21, 2005 03:31 PM | TrackBack