Editorial: A stern message for players

Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005 | 8:09 a.m.

NBA Commissioner David Stern has created a controversy by instituting a dress code for the league's players. Although many players have no problem with the new policy, some are upset about the dress code, which will be in effect during league functions and on those occasions when players are representing their teams.

Players will no longer be allowed to wear baggy jeans, T-shirts, headgear, team jerseys, chains, pendants or medallions. Wearing sunglasses indoors won't be permitted either. Headphones are banned, too, except on the team bus. Tennis shoes, flip-flops or work boots are out. Instead, players will be required to wear dress slacks, nice jeans or khakis with turtlenecks or collared dress shirts. Dress shoes or other "presentable" shoes will be required.

Sacramento Kings guard Mike Bibby isn't happy about Stern's decision. As Bibby told the Sacramento Bee, the "clothes don't make the man." He is right, to an extent. There are many players, especially the younger ones, who have been wearing the now-banned attire and are model citizens.

But the bottom line is that any employer has the right to institute a reasonable dress code. Hundreds of thousands of people in Las Vegas must abide by a dress code every day they go to work -- and employees of hotels and casinos often are required to wear uniforms. It is hard to feel much sympathy for complaining professional athletes, particularly those making millions of dollars a year.

Mandating that players dress nice won't change their behavior overnight or assuage many fans' belief that too often nowadays players are spoiled, thuggish and out of touch. One of the biggest issues facing all professional sports is making sure that outrageous conduct on and off the field is reined in by league commissioners. Stern's imposition of a dress code won't directly deal with that, but it is a refreshing move in the right direction nonetheless, one that we hope will help result in the players becoming better role models.