In the article, “The Rise of the NBA Nerd”, Wesley Morris discusses the change in clothing choices that the basketball players of the NBA have made over the past two decades. He notes that from the end of the 90’s to present day; the attire that the basketball stars wear in their interviews on off the court has changed from the stereotypical “rapper” attire to a more sophisticated look including tailored suits and cardigans which we associated with the upper and more respectable class of society. In one section of the article, Morris makes a great deal of connections with their current clothing choices to the likeliness of Carlton Banks from the popular TV show of the 90’s, “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”. This signifies how the changing of times has led to the change in appearance for the stars and the negative connotation associated with this appearance has quickly disappeared.

The reason this is so bizarre is due to the way black culture was during the 90’s. Black culture was greatly immersed in the hip hop genre and everyone was supposed to expect to fit the status quo of maintaining this image. This monolithic idea of the expected clothing choices out of black people is continued today in a different manner because of the expected image that NBA players are supposed to portray. Now that there was a change in the expected appearance of these players, they are still expected to uphold an image that may or may not fit what their real personality and clothing choices entail. Generally, it’s the same problem that was seen years ago where once someone is immersed in a culture, they are supposed to fit that culture. Visually, I believe that these men are only making a statement, whether it be political statement or just an image that the NBA expects out of their players. Regardless, it is absurd to expect someone to fit an image just because they are a part of an organization and the idea of personal individuality is becoming only a myth.