NBA Lists Fashion Do's and Don'ts
It will no longer allow players to wear sloppy garb and gaudy jewelry at official events.
By Jerry Crowe and Valli Herman
Times Staff Writers
October 19, 2005

Still smarting from image problems nearly a year after players and fans attacked one another during a game at Auburn Hills, Mich., the National Basketball Assn. has cracked down on … apparel.

The NBA says it will require players to wear "business casual attire" when they are on league or team business and not in uniform — apparently the first attempt by a major U.S. pro league to regulate how its millionaire athletes dress when not competing.

Deemed "quite liberal and easygoing" by NBA Commissioner David Stern, the code bans sunglasses worn indoors, sleeveless shirts, shorts, T-shirts, chains and do-rags, while requiring players on the bench and not in uniform to wear sport coats.

No longer will Kobe Bryant of the Lakers be seen arriving at Staples Center wearing a vintage jersey. Nor will Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers be allowed to wear caps cocked sideways during team functions or Rasheed Wallace of the Detroit Pistons to don headphones during news conferences.

Players who violate the code could be fined. Repeat violators could be kicked out of the league, Stern suggested Tuesday.

"I don't think there will be a problem unless somebody wants to make a problem," he told reporters in New York. "If they really want to make a problem, they're going to have to make a decision about how they want to spend their adult life in terms of playing in the NBA or not."

The rules go into effect Nov. 1, opening night of the season.