Dwyane Wade credits David Stern for improving the NBA's fashion sense

I just found this interesting. In light of recent perception of athletes.

Stern had hired a Republican consultant to help make the NBA “more red state friendly.” Which sounded a lot like code for making the game less hip-hop, less urban, and less black. It’s a perception in some quarters that the league has tried to battle since the 1970s but mostly rose above because of the transcendent stardom of Magic Johnson/Larry Bird then Michael Jordan. But with those stars gone and the league transitioning a little, Stern leaned on his new consultant.

Wade:

quote:

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It was like, `OK, now we got to really dress up and we can’t just throw on a sweat suit,”‘ he said. “Then it became a competition amongst guys and now you really got into it more and you started to really understand the clothes you put on your body, the materials you’re starting to wear, so then you become even more of a fan of it….

“Obviously sometimes we push the envelope, and I think it’s because we’re athletes,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “We’re not looked at as guys who should wear certain things. Being flamboyant is being OK.”

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