The Fight That Changed Fashion

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The Fight That Changed Fashion

In late 2004, in a basketball game between the Indiana Pacers and the defending champion Detroit Pistons, a major fight broke out between both the players and the fans in what would later come to be known as "The Malice at the Palace." This knock down, drag out, bottle throwing fight would then go on to change basketball culture and fashion for all players in the league.

In this time period, basketball wasn't as popular as it was during the glory days of Jordan and the dream team of the 90s. Basketball had a bit of a popularity and image problem and after the Malice in the Palace, it only got worse. Prior to this date, the stars of the court would show up to games in whatever clothing they wanted. The players and their fashion choices were often labeled as sloppy or misunderstood by those that did not know or respect hip hop culture/clothing of the predominately black players.

After the dust settled on the brawl, charges were filed against players and fans, security was beefed up at all games, and the basketball commissioner at the time, David Stern, took it upon himself to try to revamp the image of the sport. Along with requiring players to start contributing to basketball charities as part of their job descriptions, he also instituted a strict dress code for all players in the league. Stern's dress code stated that all players must dress in business or conservative attire while arriving and departing during a scheduled game, on the bench while injured, and when conducting official NBA business.

The Fight That Changed Fashion

This did NOT sit well with a lot of the players who felt that it was a personal attack on their culture (again, most of the league is/was African American), however, other players welcomed the change or just accepted it as part of the job (which also is to be remembered---that this is their job, not their own personal free time). With the new look, the NBA taking on a softer charitable side, and with a new younger batch of talent coming up through the ranks, perception of the NBA and it's players began to change.

The Fight That Changed Fashion
The Fight That Changed Fashion

When Adam Silver took over as commissioner, Stern's dress code was still in place, however, its easy to see that it is in no way being strictly enforced under his reign. In the last couple of years, NBA players took on the dress code or lack thereof as a challenge to show up and show off with their fellow players. You only have to watch a few minutes of the NBA draft to see the colorful rainbow of suits on display by newcomers to the league to know that fashion is a HUGE part of the NBA machine.



As the years rolled on, advertisers took note, and players started to become full on brands. Social media evolved to focus on their arrivals in the tunnels as fully realized fashion shows where every designer clamors to get their hands on a literal larger than life walking talking multi-million dollar advertisement for their clothing and brands. Silver seems completely unbothered by it because the league at it's core is about making money and getting attention and selling out seats. People showing up to peek in and take a look or see what products a player has eventually translate to more dollars their way, so they look the other way as player show up in robes, shirtless, with chains, in shorts and ripped jeans, and brightly colored neon suits. Stern's dress code may have helped revamp the image of yesterday, but today's NBA players are pushing the limits of fashion in a way that always has you asking, "what were they wearing!"

The Fight That Changed Fashion
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