I am not entirely sure that mandating such is the right answer however, as this generally has the effect of creating widespread and harmful dissent on all levels that can create greater problems in the end.

However, when contemplating upon the fact that sport figures are role models for kids, I think that this role must project a high level of professionalims. And if that means mandating a dress code then so be it.

It is regrettable that upper management has such difficulty in speaking with their players; predisposing the players to an unwritten rule that separates ranks and effectively builds internal barriers. But then I suppose no business is immune from this problem ~ not even high priced sport teams.

Christopher

I just emailed you but I’m going to say it again. You should definitely get with a designer and make a team outfit with matching suits, shirts and ties. It’ll show unity and it’ll show the country that we’re a top notch classy organization. Soccer teams in Europe like Real Madrid wear Italian designed suits with matching shirts and ties, and it simply gives off a vibe of unity and eliteness.

And think about the business side. Think about how many Dallas Mavericks ties you’ll be able to sell to Mavs fans. As long as you don’t splatter the Mavs logo all over it, it’ll sell like hotcakes.

Think about how good you’ll feel when you look in the paper and see Dirk, Josh, and Marquis looking sharp while they’re walking in the parking lot to the arena.

Make em hot!

David

As someone who is 6′8 tall, I agree about clothes not being cheap, but I think there’s a little understatement about the minimum rookie salary being more than what most Americans make. It doesn’t help when players making $16+ million are the ones complaining about the dress code.

Some of these players have been on MTV’s Cribs and love to show off their mansions, 5 cars (all Benz’s, Bentley’s, Hummers, etc) while walking around with a $20,000 gold chain on. When these players complain about having to ‘buy clothes’ then it’s an insult to the fans of the game.

Sure workers at McDonalds and Dairy Queen (wink wink) are given uniforms to wear while at work. When they are at work they are required to dress a certain way. If you are not being paid to work, you can go hang out at McDonalds in your street clothes. Last time I checked, NBA players ARE BEING PAID when they sit on the bench. Sounds like being at work to me.

The obvious exceptions would be the biggest stars. The incentive for upper management to develop a relationship with them is obvious: it gives them a better chance to retain their services. Indeed, we already see that to an extent, as the biggest names are often consulted in pending trades and team policy changes. But for the other 95% (or more) of professional athletes, the teams aren’t excessively interested in retaining their services. Those players tend to be (at the risk of oversimplifying) interchangeable. After all, in every sport, there are far more “journeymen” than there are players who stick with the same team for their entire careers.

I’m not sure what the “solution” to this is, since it’d obviously be good to have better relations between executives and players, but it’s equally obvious that free agency isn’t going away. Mr. Cuban, I’d like to know your thoughts on this.

Also, Mr. Cuban, please note that I’m not making any assumptions or statements directly about your club. I’m just speaking broadly, from an outsider’s view of the overall professional sports universe. For all I know, the Mavs may be the exception (and if so, congratulations, and more power to you).

What’s the timeframe of the goal, though?

One million hours divided amongst 450 players comes out to more than 2200 hours a head. (For comparison, the typical FTE job demands roughly that many hours from an employee in a year, and these guys already have full time jobs, yes?)

So surely the timeframe is three or four years …?

Either that, or these guys wanted a nice juicy number, so they pulled one out of the hat.

…So I went to nba.com just now and NBA CARES got less than 2% of the onload screen area above the fold at 800×600.

‘Course, the instant the Flash headlines load, the dress code is all splashed out front-center, even though it’s already been covered in a metric boatload of newspapers today.

Whatever.

I’m glad that the league is finally stepping in and accounting for the fact that too many of its stars are too easily implied to be moneywhoring thugs (I’m a Blazers fan, well, sorta these past few years) but for once I wish Stern would give up the damn ghost and concede that he’s the executive of a business, not a head of state.

‘Cause if I want to see political spin, I hardly need to go to the sports pages for it, these days.

Do:
Look west for designers. L.A. Fashion Week is coming up. Maybe find an up-and-coming designer or two.

Don’t:
don the speedo. that is so 1984. Just say no.

It’s a bunch of crap. I do believe we need a dress code. Why not? Time to grow up boys. Put on something decent. Being the big Pacers fan I am, I always wondered why when Jamal Tinsley was injured he would be on the bench in a t-shirt, jeans, and chain. But when Reggie Miller was injured, suit. I don’t think it has anything to do with race. I think it has to do with this: a lot of newly rich youngsters think it’s OK to where whatever to wherever. That’s not the case. You can where your chains to the club, on cribs, to the mall, but I think it would show how deserving you are of a multimillion dollar contract if you show well you present yourself.

I think we should lock the race card in a glass box and only break the glass when it applies. Acts of violence, political disenfranchisement, and things that matter! Stephen Jackson is suffering racism because he has to take the chain off? You’re not off to a good start filling Reggie Miller’s shoes.