NBA Players' Dress Code

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how very few professionals have the right to express themselves while they are on the job, that even actors and actresses sport the 'uniform' of their trade. The writer argues that basketball is a highly competitive team sport, and is, moreover, uniquely American and so for players to, almost universally, adopt an image that conveys the lowest common denominator of American life, the ghetto, which supposedly honors its unfortunate racial history, is therefore ridiculous. The writer further argues that the NBA players are highly paid professionals, charged de facto with presenting an image that the world will find attractive and uplifting and so asking the players to present a clean-cut image, particularly in these troubling times, seems little enough to ask of people getting paid multiple millions because they are exceedingly tall and can play a child's game.

Table of Contents:
Why a Dress Code, Why Now?
Dress Codes in Professional Settings and Sports
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Not everyone is as much in favor of the rule as the Chicago student. Terry Boyd, a "hip-hop professor' at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, accuses the NBA of wanting to have it both ways. They want, he says, to hire players who come from a hip-hop environment, but then they want to demonstrate, by choosing attire that might be worn by Commissioner David Stern and not street-wise players, that Stern, and not the players, is in charge of the league (Cholo, 2005). The brother of the student in favor of the code opposes it, contending that it is insulting to hip-hop; more cogently, he points out that the "NBA makes money off hip-hop" (Cholo, 2005). Indeed, rappers Nelly and Jay Z "are part owners of basketball teams" (Cholo, 2005)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cholo, Ana Beatriz. "NBA dress code suits some, but others say players' old bling reflected sport's link to hip-hop." Chicago Tribune. (2005, November 28). 28 Nov. 2005 <http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northshore/chi-0511280229nov28,1,3655129.story?coll=chi-newslocalnorthshore-hed>
• Easterling, Cynthia R., Judith E. Leslie, and Michael A. Jones. "Perceived Importance and Usage of Dress Codes among Organizations That Market Professional Services." Public Personnel Management 21.2 (1992): 211+. Questia. 28 Nov. 2005 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000152102>.
• Hoge, John, Stuart J. Foster, Pat Nickell, and Sherry L. Field. "Mandatory School Uniforms: A Debate for Students." Social Education 66.5 (2002): 284+. Questia. 28 Nov. 2005 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000830160>.
• Murray, Mimi, and Betty Mann. "In Our Professionalism Showing or Slipping?." JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 64.7 (1993): 30+. Questia. 28 Nov. 2005 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002195441>.
• "NBA Dress Code Policy." NBA Web site: InsideHoops.com (2005, October 17). 28 Nov. 2005 <http://www.insidehoops.com/dress-code.shtml>

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