NBA Dress Code: Changing Behavior?

Facing scrutiny and negative press coverage brought on by on-court violence and the hip-hop image of its players, National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner David Stern instated a dress code beginning with the 2005-2006 season. The unprecedented rule among major professional

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sports leagues states that all players must wear business attire when entering or exiting games, while sitting on the bench injured, or during any other league-related event. The assumption that a dress code would change players’ behavior is drawn from the fact that the policy was only discussed after the Pacers-Pistons fight at Auburn Hills, Michigan in November 2004, when fighting started on the court and spread into the stands. Another assumption was that the code would positively affect the way the fans view the players and the league as a whole. These two assumptions draw heavily on the psychology of social and self-perception. Can wearing different clothes change how you act in a given situation? Can it change someone’s opinion of you?

Psychological studies have had much to say about the subject of clothing, behavior, and perception in and out of the world of sports. A 1988 study by Cornell professors Frank and Gilovich found that players whose teams wear black in NHL and NFL contests commit significantly more penalties than teams in any other color. The result of the study can be attributed to the players act more aggressively while wearing black and/or the referees perceive the players wearing black to be more aggressive. Wade and Stafford in 2003 found a small but significant correlation between student uniforms and perception of gang behavior. Teachers whose schools had dress codes perceived lower levels of gang behavior. In the Zimbardo (1971) prison experiment, when several normal Stanford undergrads were given the role of prison guard and dressed as such, they acted violently and inhumanely toward their captives, who were fellow Stanford undergrads. Uniforms and the unconscious thoughts they evoke can be very powerful.

Dress affects not only the unconscious of the wearer of the clothes but also the spectator. NBA players wearing a certain color or style of uniform entering the arena could possibly change how they act on the court moments later. In their typical street clothes (which have styles that have been considered both thuggish and hip-hop, depending on whom you ask) players may be rougher than while wearing business attire. Differences in behavior and perceptions of behavior based on clothing can be attributed in part to the unconscious act of priming. The viewers of NBA games have certain concepts and ideas associated with the hip-hop clothing previously worn by many basketball players. Several of these stereotyped concepts could be “rapper,” “gangster,” “thug,” or “dangerous.”

Can the effectiveness of the NBA dress code in changing player behaviour be statistically measured? It may be possible to measure the effects of the dress code on the number of personal fouls committed. Players wearing business attire entering the arena may unconsciously act less violently than in their street, hip-hop clothes. Referees may unconsciously perceive the business dress as less violent prone and call fewer fouls. Another statistic to consider would be arrests off the court (which might address police perceptions as well as player behavior).

The NBA did take an interesting stance in creating a dress code to improve the marketability of its stars. But it’s an odd one given that much of the league’s popularity among younger viewers comes from its hip-hop image. Videogames, TV shows, and basketball clothing are all based on this culture. In fact, ESPN has two shows marketing the idea: “Streetball” and “City Slam.” The shows follow “street” players (players who grew up honing their skills on inner city courts) who exude and display the hip-hop styles the NBA is so eager to stifle.

The dress code might be detrimental to attendance, TV ratings, and www.nba.com hits by stifling the creative and unusual personalities of people such as Dennis Rodman. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban signed aging star Rodman so he could fill the seats. In Rodman’s Dallas debut, 18,203 fans showed up to watch him play–the second largest crowed in team history. Dennis Rodman is known for wearing women’s clothing, having several tattoos and body piercings, and changing hair color with each game.

All psychological conjecture aside, a more straightforward, commonsense view might be worthwhile. Perhaps the tattooed, cornrowed, hip-hop 76ers point guard Allen Iverson put it best when he said, in response to the NBA’s dress code, “You can put a murderer in a suit and he’s still a murderer.”

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