Oh yeah, it’s my favorite semi-regular occurrence–mail day!
Mail day is usually immediately following an ESPN article, particularly those where race is an issue. Those people that think racism is dead clearly have never read my e-mail.
Well, this batch was fun. Not that large, but the e-mail I got was somewhat evenly divided between folks who agreed, those who didn’t, and those who said they agreed but really didn’t.
We’ll start with a sample from someone who agreed. This is Mike, from Seattle.
Bomani,
I read your article on ESPN.com and couldn’t agree with you more… even though I’m a 51 year old conservative guy.
I’ve watched professional basketball for almost 30 years (in fact I remember in my teens being in a free throw contest against one of the original Seattle Supersonics). Who really cares how a player dresses (my 13 year old son dresses like the “stereotypical” NBA player), how they wear their hair, or what type of music they may like? The way a NBA player dresses in no way impacts what’s important, and that’s how well they perform on the court.
Professional basketball players throughout history have always been unique characters, and basketball the most creative sport around. Let’s hope David Stern lets this dress code nonsense fade away.
Keep up the good work!
I must say that I really dig it when someone whose ideology is totally different from mine understands what I’m saying. It’s really interesting when that happens. But, I do hang with Kirk, so I should be somewhat used to it by now.
Here’s Paul in Minnesota. Paul really dug the piece, but I don’t think he sees that he and I really don’t agree at all. Now, when people tell me what a moron I am but proceed to get mad at things I didn’t say, I tell them to go read again. Curiously, I don’t do that when they like it but didn’t get it. So shameless I am.
bo-man,
excellent article and insights from different vantage points and on several fronts…
stern is seeing a significant decline in attendance at nba games, and like it or not, it’s because the people who can afford to pay from several to hundreds of thousands of dollars for suites, boxes, and season tix, are not pleased with the product on several different levels. with the troubling trend in declining attendance at stake, he needs find small ways to convince the ‘peeps’ who write-out the big checks, that they are serious about bringing this activity back toward the center for the sake of the masses.
whether the players like it or not, this is suppose to be a [professional] league/business venture on some level for which the players are required to make some small to modest contributions to in order to strengthen and benefit the overall long-term health of the product. if [professional] players can’t recognize the need to invest in their product in the macro-economic picture of the league, then they should all go figure out a better way to become millionaires away from basketball where they can do things on exactly their own terms.
if it keeps up the way its going, this league will be in jeopardy of going defunct in 10 years, or the players will be signing for cba-caliber money. people with significant disposable income to spend are apparently getting tired of the attitudes, behaviors, and value systems projected by this league, and stern recognizes it.
stern can afford to worry about the fans/supporters who contribute to the product on ancillary purchases after the big financial supporters are tokenly appeased. if there weren’t a need identified, then the league simply would not resort to this kind of tactic. hopefully some trustworthy individual can get it through to all the free-spirited individuals in the league who reject the notion of cultivating a more professional image. it works like a charm in the college ranks!
More than anything, I dug getting an e-mail that used the word “ancillary.”
Finally, we have Brady, a student at BYU-Hawaii. Brady’s not too bright.
Stern has NOTHING too lose. Players (like Iverson) can still be the punks they want to that imbarrass our nation at the Olympics even with address code. Its only to and from games and at press conferences. They can dress like pimps and clowns anywhere else they want to. Don’t blow it out of proportion. Fact is this trend of “ghetto ball” (pimp clothing, tatoo’s, gangster rap, and selfish weakly structured basketball) in the nba has a direct correlation to the decrease of American b-ball talent. That’s why the rest of the world is beating us and will continue to do so. Its lack of discipline. When you lose discipline you lose everything. You watch, this dress code is exactly the discipline the nba needs. It will only help society’s ability to respect this severly declined league.
For the record, I counted no less than ten spelling, punctuation, grammatical, and capitalization errors. Where’s the classroom discipline, kid?
The hate mail prize winner, though, is some kid at Wake Forest. Following a long-standing tradition, he says a lot of out of pocket things but forgot to sign his name. In fact, he sent this from a name where the display doesn’t even show up. People get really cowardly when they want to say things they know they ain’t got no bidness saying.
However, Google tells me this guy’s name is Daniel. Would love to put his whole name out there, but that’s bad business.
Bomani Jones
Your sarcasm is amazing. I never though someone would actually finish the whole article without saying that they were kidding. That was amazing. So deep and professional. O wait, you weren’t serious. You think that people making millions of dollars a year should be allowed to look like thugs. This dress code is not unreasonable at all. They should follow every rule and regulation with a smile on their faces. Most of these players cannot form a grammatical sentence. Without the NBA they would be in minimum wage work. NBA athletes are some of the most unprofessional “professionals” on the planet. Do you think the CEO of a large corporation would come to work in his doo-rag and throwback jersey. I also would like to hear about what you thought about Kenyon Martin’s comment about wanting a stipend to pay for his suit. That was disrespectful to all the fans and was quite unprofessional. These players are role models whether they want to be or not. It is part of job. They get paid millions of dollars so they should act like adults, not drug-dealing thugs. Maybe where they come from that is a great job, but most of the nation does not. They are “professional” athletes and they should start acting like and “professionals” like yourself should start acting like one and stop supporting these thugs.
sincerely,
your biggest fan
I replied to Daniel, and it went something like this…
Sir, you have a bit of a problem. You asked me if those players can form a grammatical sentence. Well, all sentences–even incomplete ones–are grammatical. They should be grammatically correct, though. So, can you form a grammatically correct sentence?
And is that required to do their jobs–play basketball?
And what about wearing jeans makes you a drug dealing thug?
Curiously, I’ve yet to get a reply from Daniel.
But how amazing is it that dressing like most young black men dress makes you look like a drug dealer? News flash–the majority of young black men don’t sell dope. Another news flash–the majority of drug dealers is not comprised of young black men. Strictly by the numbers, dressing like a drug dealer would mean most black folks would have to get a straightening comb and some ghastly Kabuki-like foundation.
These e-mails always make me wonder what people really think of me when they see me on the street. All these degrees ain’t worth nothin’. And since it’s unlikely my jeans are gonna get any smaller anytime soon, I’ll be dealing with these morons forever.
Oh well. Stupid people ain’t never gonna dictate how this shop is run, ya dig?
19 thoughts on “MAIL CALL!”
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Bomani,
As my ideology dictates, I make a point to not get worked up about rules I am not compelled to follow. As my NBA career was a non-starter, none of this mattered to me.
Until I read your article, that is.
You make excellent points. Actually your respondents illuminate your actual point.
What REALLY needs a make-over is the perception of the average person in this country. White and Black.
I confess that even I..as I creep towards what used to pass for middle age in this country had issues with these brothas just as I have an issue with my OWN brother as he careens through life with no intentions of joining the mainstream. But what they eat don’t make me shit. So I shouldn’t get mad that my own shit stinks and I can’t smell theirs through the TV.
You know DAMNED well what these mofos think of you (and me) when we aren’t emblazoned with the trappings of a post-graduate education.
And if ole boy was honest with himself, what would fix the quality of the game isn’t what they wear. It is how they play growing up. These kids..and that is EXACTLY what they are when they get to the NBA are growing up in the game watching it on TV..and outside the confines of layup lines and drills. The fundamentals aren’t being taught cause there isn’t a respect for it or a structure in place that can teach it.
You want a better NBA?
Bring back the city-funded summer basketball camp.
Imbarrass.
Classic.
Uh-uh-uh. As a 36 years young black man, I struggle daily with image and perception. Not how I view myself, mind you, but how others view me. (We all know who the ‘others’ are). Unfortunately for young black men, everything we do is monitored, attacked and often copied.
With this fish-bowl observation comes a lot of pressure. The ‘others’ are upset at how thoroughly we have permeated Amerikkkan culture. The one ‘conservative’ guy (who wrote to Bomani) even mentioned that his son dresses like a ‘sterotypical’ athlete. (Betcha’ he meant black). Even middle-aged conservatives have been affected by the way young black men dress. Example: You very seldom see middle-aged white guys in those short-shorts they wore back in the 70’s and 80’s. Now, you see them wearing somewhat baggier knee-length versions of the same shorts.
In conclusion, I want to say this: Yes, image and perception are everything in Amerikkka. However, I’m not certain that a new ‘dress’ code is going to change the on and off-court behavior of the NBA ‘thugs’. Perhaps, stricter Ron Artest type punishments will take care of that.
I love it when you put up emails. I surprised you don’t get more really ignorant ones–Or was that just a sample?
I’m sure anything related to race brings out some of the worst in people. I know of this sociologist who has written several books about racism, and I found out that he has body guards that follow him to many public events.
I found some interesting articles yeterday about racism against soccer players in Europe–the letters you get are tame in comparison.
That Kabuki shit is perhaps top 5 when it comes to humorous bomanijones.com moments. The Jay Gatsby suit collection in the ESPN piece is top 3.
The dress code is stupid. Personally, I do think some of these guys look like fools, but hey that’s on them. I’m sure a lot of them would say the same about me. Either way, Stern should focus his efforts on more important issues within the league, such as apologizing to the world and admitting that there is no excuse or rationale for Mark Madsen.
Kirk,
Mark Madsen had a purpose: somebody had to dance like a fool when the Slacker Lakers won those championships (Phil Jackson had a deal with the devil, y’all!)…
But I digress..
Bo, I would loooooove to beat the brakes off ya boy Brady for droppin that “ghetto ball” shit in that e-mail. Kabuki make-up? Only Kabuki I ever known was the dude that sprayed the green stuff in Junkyard Dog’s face.
But back to the point, man it never ceases to amaze me the level of stupidity that gets sent your way. You’re right though, I also wonder what “mainstream America” thinks of my 6’3, 280-pound self when I walk down the street with my baggy jeans, do-rag and T-shirt. I think I’m still scary enough to make a white woman clutch her purse on the elevator (I wish that could happen, so I can say, “I got my own money, what the hell I’mma do with yours, you basset hound!) or scary enough to make an old white man step aside.
Trust me, where I’m from and where I’ve been, drug dealers do not dress as nicely as NBA players (well, the small timers at least). I still refuse to believe that a dress code will help the NBA on the court. What next, no facial hair (we saw how that helped the Yankees).
Like somebody else said, if you want to improve basketball, start at the local level and fund more basketball camps. Also, if Stern wants to improve U.S. basketball, he gots to get the shoe companies out of AAU and the AAU out of the shoe companies. The guys that play AAU for those teams aren’t learning anything, they’re playing glorified pick-up games.
This is by far my favorite article you’ve ever written. Let me list the ways:
1) The references: from Nate Archibald (who my friends and I discovered playing Live with throwback teams this summer and have nicknamed “naaasty nate”) to Jay Gatsby (one of my three favorite books), it couldn’t get any better.
2) Your understanding of a young NBA fan. And our growing distaste for David Stern, who is the closest thing to Big Brother I think I’ve ever seen. Even with my love for college basketball, I don’t want an age limit. And I certianly don’t want my players to look like me. I want them on the floor and larger than life. I want to watch them play basketball at a level higher than anyone else (especially if they can enjoy doing it). And nothing says gladiator like a tatoo on your neck or clothes that could be worn by an Escalade. We hate on Kobe a lot, but you gotta admit, nothing was more fun than his throwback exposition a couple of years back. You never knew who he was going to engarment himself with next. The NBA should be all about Basketball and Personality and anything that gets in the way should be abolished.
But here’s a message of hope: it’s really tough block out the young black athlete’s personality. You hit on this in the article saying that the dress code wouldn’t make the players any much more like they’re audience and that they’ll likely show up looking more like pimps than proffesionals. The NFL ruled out do-rags and head bands, now people everywhere rock skull caps. Sure, the dress of players will change but it will never be “professional” – thank God.
Thank you, kind sir. In fairness, the NFL does allow do-rags. They just have to be officially licensed NFL do-rags. No lie.
Mail is always so much fun. Reminds you that there are so many IDIOTS out there.
As for the code, I say: Let the dudes be individuals, that’s good for the NBA – making ’em clean up every once in a while won’t make them any less prone to act how they want to act anyway. Sometimes I dress like a preppy but it doesn’t make me any less subversive. PS: The example photo of Iverson was High-larious. Check the look on his face – he’s totally thinking (as they shoot the picture) “oh sh*t – I’m letting them document this silly-ass look”
As I look back over the hatemail, I can’t help but be impressed by what a colossal fucktard Brady is.
Seems to me that perhpas BYU-Hawaii is the institution in greater need of discipline, especially if they’re letting 4th grade dropouts in there these days.
Bo,
I move that we adopt Kirk’s “colossal fucktard” to the official bomanijones.com lexicon.
BTW: is BYU-Hawaii kinda oxymoronic?
Bo’s right…Ray Buchanan couldn’t get burnt in the secondary with just no run-of-the-mill, Hair Crown do-rag. It had to be Equipment NFL do-rags he wore while he got burnt in the secondary all those times…(Sorry, couldn’t resist).
When he was Big Play Ray, he made a Pro Bowl. He doesn’t play for the Falcons anymore, so oh well. You should ridicule his artificial dreads, though.
Bo,
I move that we adopt Kirk’s “colossal fucktard” to the official bomanijones.com lexicon.
BTW: is BYU-Hawaii kinda oxymoronic?
Bo’s right…Ray Buchanan couldn’t get burnt in the secondary with just no run-of-the-mill, Hair Crown do-rag. It had to be Equipment NFL do-rags he wore while he got burnt in the secondary all those times…(Sorry, couldn’t resist).
When he was Big Play Ray, he made a Pro Bowl. He doesn’t play for the Falcons anymore, so oh well. You should ridicule his artificial dreads, though.
Too funny. Ok. When I was in 10th grade, the public school system started making us dress in uniform. I guess to make us more disciplined and also to cut down on gang activity due to colors or what not. So what did we do? Find other ways to distinguish ourselves; ways to get around the system. We’d wear our uniforms in a certain way. Wear extra fly footwear to compensate for the robbery of self-expression. Gang members laced their shoes with their colors. Some toted heat, see-through bookbags be damned. Still drinking liquor out of water bottles in the door of the school. You know…same old behavior only with white or light blue collared shirts; khaki, navy or black pants on.
Hey you don’t have to be intelligent to have an opinion. Degrees don’t mean intelligence. You were pretty sharp before you got anybody’s diploma. Neither do you have to know how to form a complete sentence. Pollute the environment with ignorance, you just might become president. Did someone address you as “Bo-Man”? From what I can see, people making millions of dollars wear whatever the hell they want. But most people making millions are also not Black. So what are we going to do about those pesky, thug-looking, ghetto ball playing, misbehaving, millionaires? Solution: Dress Code.
Dressing like a “perceived” white man doesn’t make you have discipline. Why is this a proposed solution? Oh, they are trying to make large Black men less scary. Good luck, David Stern. You are out of touch with reality, Mr. Stern. Join the ranks of the army of colossal fucktards of planet earth, Mr. Stern.
It appears that fucktard has caught on.
Too funny. Ok. When I was in 10th grade, the public school system started making us dress in uniform. I guess to make us more disciplined and also to cut down on gang activity due to colors or what not. So what did we do? Find other ways to distinguish ourselves; ways to get around the system. We’d wear our uniforms in a certain way. Wear extra fly footwear to compensate for the robbery of self-expression. Gang members laced their shoes with their colors. Some toted heat, see-through bookbags be damned. Still drinking liquor out of water bottles in the door of the school. You know…same old behavior only with white or light blue collared shirts; khaki, navy or black pants on.
Hey you don’t have to be intelligent to have an opinion. Degrees don’t mean intelligence. You were pretty sharp before you got anybody’s diploma. Neither do you have to know how to form a complete sentence. Pollute the environment with ignorance, you just might become president. Did someone address you as “Bo-Man”? From what I can see, people making millions of dollars wear whatever the hell they want. But most people making millions are also not Black. So what are we going to do about those pesky, thug-looking, ghetto ball playing, misbehaving, millionaires? Solution: Dress Code.
Dressing like a “perceived” white man doesn’t make you have discipline. Why is this a proposed solution? Oh, they are trying to make large Black men less scary. Good luck, David Stern. You are out of touch with reality, Mr. Stern. Join the ranks of the army of colossal fucktards of planet earth, Mr. Stern.
It appears that fucktard has caught on.
Wow, a dress code. That will really fix all the problems that plague the NBA. I am sure that Armani suits will improve Shaq’s free throw percentage, Kobe’s ball hogging, and the total lack of good shooting in the league.
They are professionals and maybe certain professionals need to dress a certain way but these dudes play basketball, a damn game. I know it’s how most of them put food on the table and I am sure that for a lot of them it is war on the court but at the end of the day, it is a game. You don’t dress up before you go to a game, you don’t dress up to play a game, and you usually don’t dress up after you play a game. That’s why it’s a game. It’s supposed to be fun.
Yes, it’s about the team but individual players (i.e. individual personalities) make up a team. That is what makes them fun to watch. A dress code takes a little bit of that away.
I have a little bit of respect for Stern, you have to admit he is 100 times better than Bud Selig, but he is all wrong on this one. He needs to be concerned with lowering ticket prices, making sure that the best talent in the world is in HIS league and helping USA Basketball put together a REAL Dream Team.
I don’t care what Tim Duncan wears to the arena as long has he gets 20 points, 10 rebounds and a Spurs victory when he gets there.
Wow, a dress code. That will really fix all the problems that plague the NBA. I am sure that Armani suits will improve Shaq’s free throw percentage, Kobe’s ball hogging, and the total lack of good shooting in the league.
They are professionals and maybe certain professionals need to dress a certain way but these dudes play basketball, a damn game. I know it’s how most of them put food on the table and I am sure that for a lot of them it is war on the court but at the end of the day, it is a game. You don’t dress up before you go to a game, you don’t dress up to play a game, and you usually don’t dress up after you play a game. That’s why it’s a game. It’s supposed to be fun.
Yes, it’s about the team but individual players (i.e. individual personalities) make up a team. That is what makes them fun to watch. A dress code takes a little bit of that away.
I have a little bit of respect for Stern, you have to admit he is 100 times better than Bud Selig, but he is all wrong on this one. He needs to be concerned with lowering ticket prices, making sure that the best talent in the world is in HIS league and helping USA Basketball put together a REAL Dream Team.
I don’t care what Tim Duncan wears to the arena as long has he gets 20 points, 10 rebounds and a Spurs victory when he gets there.
I bet you could start a collection of BEST OF from the emails that you receive.. wow.
I bet you could start a collection of BEST OF from the emails that you receive.. wow.
Wow, just when I was gettin’ all proud of myself for my addition to the lexicon, I see the Ray Buchanan shot…from WAY out of left field…and I realize that I am simply a boy among men. Mr. Batiste, you’re doing the Lord’s work. The shattered egos of 49er fans everywhere owe you a debt of gratitude.
Why doesn’t Stern say as long as you play for an Olympic team you don’t have to follow the dress code. That way Iverson can still be Iverson and you won’t see a rash of summer “injuries” that just happens to correalate with the Olympics.