When the NBA dress code was put into place it was to correct many problems the commission perceived. The dress code requires players to wear Business Casual attire whenever they are engaged in team or league business. Meaning they must wear a long or short sleeved dress shirt and/or sweater. They must have dress slacks, khakis, or dress jeans. And must wear appropriate shoes and socks, dress boots or other presentable shoes. But what must be understood is that the new dress code will actually harm the athletes and the league. First, it doesn’t allow athletes to fully utilize endorsements. Second, the rule is subjective and could lead to many unfair punishments. Third, the dress code is not thorough enough to actually do any good. That is why we stand affirmed to the resolution that the National Basketball Association should rescind its dress code.
Our first point, the newly instated dress code is unfair to the athletes because it will limit their available income. Part of their income can come from endorsement deals for athletic clothing companies. Players are drawing huge contracts from these companies, such as Lebron James who is receiving 90 million dollars from Nike for his endorsement. When he can’t wear their brand of clothing it could encourage the company to release him from his contract. It is assumed that NBA players are all millionaires, but the minimum yearly salary is only 385 thousand dollars, at the wage, endorsements become important to the athlete, especially because the average NBA career lasts a mere 4 years according to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. That’s precious time spent out of the real career world. Not to mention the physical harm their bodies can endure. A player should be allowed to utilize all available income and market themselves as they choose. If a player thinks his best way to earn endorsements is to dress in a suit then so be it. But if a player thinks the best way to market himself is to wear clothes produced by Nike or Reebok, he should be allowed to do so.
Our second point, the NBA offers no definitions for many of the terms it forces players to adhere, thus making the rule very subjective. No where in the official rule of the NBA Player Dress Code is there a definition of any of the terms. Business Casual, Dress Jeans, Dress Shirt are all important terms but remain undefined, available for anyone to interpret as they wish. The problem this leaves is that a player may purchase clothing that he believes is acceptable but could suffer a fine because the enforcement is done subjectively. It is hard for players to live by a rule if there is no clear understanding of what it means. Also, there is lots of room for discrimination. The commissioner may wish to make an example of Allen Iverson, so Allen’s outfit may not be acceptable if the commissioner decides they aren’t. But a similar outfit could be worn by John Smith and there isn’t a problem. An example of this has already taken place last year when a brawl broke out during an NBA game. A number of players entered the stands and struck fans, but their suspensions and fines were all different, proving that the NBA has shown inconsistency in punishment.
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Our Third point, this rule won’t achieve its objective. With the lack of definitions and failure to discuss colors or patterns the rule still allows for insane clothing. According to the rule, as long as the player is wearing a dress shirt, dress slacks, and appropriate shoes then anything goes. This would include but not be restricted to plaid, corduroy, tie-dye, rainbow, neon colors, and stripes. What you end with is a lot of options for players to really make themselves stand out if they choose to do so. If the NBA is really looking to clean up its image than it shouldn’t allow players to wear suits that resemble suits of 1950’s mobsters. Or suits that may be confused with a pimp suit. According to the dress code there are a number of ridiculous outfits that can be worn and not punishable, while a Nike sweater and sweat pants is going to get a player a suspension. We cannot allow for this injustice, its inconsistent and too many things can slip through the rule.
If the NBA is trying to improve its image what really needs to be done is the NBA needs to look towards other alternatives such as a no tolerance policy when enforcing rules. An employee punching a customer would be fired in any other job, but in the NBA its only a one year suspension. Or they could look at requiring players to spend time in college before entering the league like the NFL. If you encourage them to receive a diploma you are also encouraging growth mentally, emotionally, and physically before entering the league.. The dress code does no good for what the NBA is trying to accomplish. With these reasons we must stand in affirmation of the resolution.
