Pacers' Jackson calls ban on chains 'racist statement'

ESPN.com ^ | Oct. 19, 2005 | Marc Stein

[meandog]

SHUT UP AND PLAY BASKETBALL, IDIOT...that is what you're being paid to do! If you want to wear your chains and fancy clothes, change vocations and become a pimp!

[Rebelbase]

"San Antonio's Tim Duncan, far less vocal but also a critic of the new policy, did not play in Tuesday's game and sat on the bench wearing an untucked shirt and baggy jeans -- attire that could result in a fine if seen during a regular-season game."

The NBA is paying the price for allowing the once great game of pro basketball to morph into thugball.

[massgopguy]

A UCONN booster who had to decide which NCAA championship game to go to because the man's and women's teams were both playing, told SI that he prefered the women's game. When asked the biggest difference he responded. "the women wear less jewelery".

[MarkL]

Racist?

When the word "racist" is used, it means attacking someone in regards to their race, the way they were born. I was unaware that "young black men" were born with gold chains over their clothes. This must be terribly uncomfortable for their mothers.

Mark

[Eric in the Ozarks]

NBA players set an example for the gangbangers in your town...

[lastchance]

My heart bleeds. I think we would do well to start a
SAVE THE CHAINS donation thread here and in our neighborhoods. "OFF THE OPPRESSING SLAVEHOLDING CAPITILISTIC SWINE LEAGUE MASTERS WHO STOMP ALL OVER OUR MANHOOD BY DISSING OUR CHAINS" could be the rallying cry.
But we must gain support of all freedom loving peoples
remind them today it is thugee chains- but tommorrow it will be Golf Pants.

[Scourge of God]

Today's NBA players just don't get it. The league is rightfully trying to get rid of the hip-hop/thug image that is alienating fans, and return to playing real basketball.

That is precisely what drove me away from the league. I wanted to enjoy a good sport, not watch a hip hop lifestyle paraded in front of my eyes. Which is why college football is the best sport going.

[Right Brother]

Using modern Leftist logic, chains are a symbol of slavery. One can then assume that the NBA is just being politically correct by removing such symbols.

[Ben Mugged]

Bling ping

[printhead]

Marc Stein, is that a Mark Steyn knockoff?

[HoosierFather]

This guy is is fast becoming the second major embarassment for the Pacers after Ron Artest. With knuckleheads like Jackson and Artest in the Pacer locker room, the Pacers are going to miss the maturity and professional demeanor of Reggie Miller before the end of the season. He kept these children focused. If they get off to a slow start, watch for the team chemistry to implode.

[SQUID]

What an idiot. If black people think their entire cultural identity is defined by a chain around the neck, baggy pants and an over sized shirt then the black people as a whole are in deep doo doo. As long as the black people hold idiots like this up as an example for their culture then black problems will never be solved. (Such as the complete destruction of the black family unit)

Black men like Jackson who simply have a bone to pick with Whitey need racism in order to feel the gratifying and doping feeling of opposition and contradiction for anything deemed WHITE.

[Sensei Ern]

Imagine if the dress code required chains?

That would be discriminatory against three-point shooters.

[Question_Assumptions]

I do think that some dress codes do have a racially insensitive component to them, particularly when they deal with hairstyles and colors. I'm not sure that this one has a "racial" component so much as it has a "cultural' component, which really is the whole point of a lot of dress codes, anyway. My guess is that nobody would have a problem with reasonable jewelry but that this particular rule is "zero tolerance" because like all "zero tolerance" rules, they don't want to be dragged into having to define a specific line between what's tasteful and what's not, so they just banned it all. If they trusted the fashion sense of the players, they wouldn't need a dress code because, in my experience, dress codes always go into a lot of detail about certain things because they've been abused in the past.

[kittymyrib]

Gee...most of the rest of the world must dress in a certain way to satisfy the company's image. Only these spoiled athletes think they are above all that. Of course, I don't recall to many pictures of the San Antonio Spurs dressing like pimps in the 'hood, so I guess it's not really necessary, Mr. Jackson.