OK David Stern, this is going too far.
The mandates on player apparel on game days were understandable. It’s not too much to ask for players to trade in the gold and platinum chains for Brooks Brothers ties. Although some people said it was an attempt to rid the league of its hip hop image, it may have been that Stern simply wanted a pristine league image.
Then the 2006-2007 season came. The league was forced to adjust to a new ball – one that numerous stars of the league have lampooned – a ridiculous no-tolerance technical foul rule and an even more ridiculous rule that disallows players to wear a wristband anywhere but their wrist.
The new changes are simply too much. More importantly, the new changes are completely unnecessary. There was nothing wrong with the old NBA official basketball. So why introduce another one that players like Steve Nash and LeBron James have labeled inferior?
Why rob NBA payers of the chance to display their passion with the occasional gesture or conversation with a referee? And why is it an issue for a player to wear a wristband in the iconic fashion that the league’s greatest asset, Michael Jordan, did.
The answers for these questions are…well, non-existent. From the looks of it, these rules are David Stern’s way of overcompensating for image problems that the league has suffered through.
But it still doesn’t make sense for a league that has endured image problems to make players suffer even more.
Akeem Anderson for the Editorial Board.