Have you seen this dress code before? Did you know that this dress code was a copycat of the NBA (National Basketball Association) dress code? In 2005, the NBA announced a dress code that stated players must dress in “business casual” attire, meaning no sleeveless shirts, shorts, sunglasses (while indoors), and headphones. Players cannot wear medallions, chains, or pendants over their clothes. It also requires players on the bench who are not in uniform to wear sports jackets, shoes, and socks.
Watch this video clip:
Then NBA commissioner, David Stern’s position on this matter seems really “stern”: comply or else. Read the following article:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2005-10-18-stern-code_x.htm
Check out the following to find out what players are saying:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2197012&CMP=OTC-DT9705204233
Despite the fact that the NBA has announced that a dress code has nothing to do with racial matters, there have been many Internet articles more or less suggesting this new dress code is racially motivated and targeting young black males and their cultural expressions. This was not the first time when David Stern was accused of being some sort of a racist. Earlier, David Stern wanted to raise the minimum age of entering players from 18 to 20. What was his intention? Stern wanted to protect youngsters from physically demanding league plays. Interestingly, there have been several rookies of the year were teenagers drafted right out of high school: LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire. Indiana Pacers player Jermaine ONeal thought this was a racist idea:
As a black guy, you kind of think [race is] the reason why it’s coming up. You don’t hear about it in baseball or hockey. To say you have to be 20, 21 to get in the league, it’s unconstitutional. If I can go to the U.S. Army and fight the war at 18 why can’t you play basketball for 48 minutes?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2035132
Let’s look at one paragraph from our text. Orlando Patterson states (Marger p. 202):
The black influence on the prevailing American culture is today not simply evident, but pervasive. Blacks dominate American popular culture – including music, dance, language, sports, and youths’ fashion. So powerful and unavoidable is the black popular influence that it is now not uncommon to find persons who while remaining racists in personal relations and attitudes, nonetheless have surrendered their tastes, and their viewing and listening habits, to black entertainers, talk-show hosts and sitcom stars.
Given this context, would you say that David Stern is a symbolic racist (Read our mini-lecture to find out what symbolic racism is and reading this article on symbolic racism can be really helpful, too)? Why or why not? If this dress code is going to be successful, what’s next? Removing Alan Iverson’s tattoos? (If anyone can find more about the Iverson tattoo saga, that will be great.)
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