With proponents and opponents continuing to argue back and forth, the NBA dress code debate refuses to go away. Recently more gas was poured on the firestorm as news of the NBA players’ union filing a grievance objecting to 13 players being fined for wearing their shorts too long went public. Enough is enough. It is time for honesty to reign. David Stern is a smart man. Being a smart man, he surely knows the only way to fix the NBA’s “image” crisis is to give the fans he seeks what they want. Everything else is akin to placing a band-aid over a broken bone.On the surface the NBA’s dress code is as much of a story as the latest developments in the life of Paris Hilton. Employers make new rules and regulations for employees everyday. Employees often adamantly disagree with these rules and regulations. So what is the big deal? Why did this story spark such intense conversation and continues to have legs to this day? The answer to that is the same as the answer to the question of why the NBA would feel the need to tailor its image in the first place. It has joined every professional league in America except the NFL in becoming a niche league. For the NBA and where its players are concerned, this means it has become a “black” league.
Niche leagues have always found it difficult to capture the attention of the vast majority of America. Being too closely associated with one demographic of society all but guarantees a sport to get only a portion of the attention and revenue there is to be had. The NHL suffers from being too Canadian and European. Major League Baseball is increasingly becoming an old person’s game with a growing Latin American influence. Sports associated with the X-Games are too young. Skating and Gymnastics are too women related. The WNBA, well that is too too women related. The history of these leagues and sports proves that the NBA is not alone in its plight. Though what has Stern on the offensive more than anything is that his league recently rivaled the NFL in popularity. Why the decline?
When looking at the NBA as too black, it is interesting to note that the league’s percentage of black players is only slight higher than the NFL’s percentage of black players. The NFL is the most popular thing going, but it also is not considered too black. Players like Tom Brady, Zach Thomas, and Jeremy Shockey are the reason for this. The NBA has stars that are not black such as Dirk Nowitzki and Manu Ginobili. They are also not American. In the NBA’s heyday there were the Michael Jordans, Magic Johnsons, and Patrick Ewings. There also were the John Stocktons, Larry Birds, and Tom Chambers. Yep, Bird himself had it right a year and a half ago, the NBA needs some white stars. Too simple of an explanation for the NBA’s image troubles, well when trying to attract a mass audience the simplest solution works best.
NASCAR is currently going through something very similar. Though, they are taking a more sensible approach as they continue to penetrate into the fiber of the American sports culture. NASCAR is trying to shed its redneck label not by forcing drivers to make regular appearances on BET or even banning the Confederate flag which fans still fly, but by trying to attract more minority participation. They started a diversity program to foster this. Instead of totally changing its product to attract a new audience, they are trying to represent the new audience in their product.
If the NBA could do such a thing, the vast majority of their problems would be solved. It is safe to assume that if Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison and Duke’s J.J. Redick duplicated their collegiate feats at the professional level, the NBA would all of sudden receive a “boost” in popularity. Of course Stern and the NBA can not create stars like NASCAR or professional wrestling can. So until the day when his league once again appeals to a majority of Americans, Stern needs to embrace being a niche league and let his players continue to be themselves.