We’re coming upon the one-year anniversary of David Stern’s decision to ban NBA players from wearing tights underneath their regulation shots. The list of players who had started to wear the tights included Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. They claimed that the tights helped circulation in their legs; thus producing more blood flow and helping them get better lift in their shots towards the end of a game. The NBA disagreed.

Last season, the NBA implemented its dress code. No longer could you walk into the arena wearing a “throwback” jersey or no longer could you walk into the arena with your headphones on, listening to music. Stern wanted the NBA to be a business and his players dressing so.

Out were the long baggy T-shirts, the roll-out-of-bed crumpled clothing that many players wore, and many things that could be considered part of the “hip-hop” generation: chains and excessive jewelry.

In were business suits for players walking into the arena, players who weren’t playing in the game but sitting on the bench, and cleaner-cut individuals who stepped off the bus. Some players agreed. Some players dissented. Some players thought it was racist.

ESPN.com ran a list of quotes from players two days after the dress code was announced showing how players around the league felt. “No, it’s not a big deal. Not to me. Sometimes you feel lazy and you don’t feel like putting some clothes on, but this is a job,” James said.

Two-time NBA MVP Tim Duncan said, “I think it’s a load of crap. I understand what they’re trying to do with hats and jerseys…But I don’t understand why they would take it to this level. I think it’s basically retarded.”

“(Regarding chains) I definitely feel that’s a racist statement. Almost 100 percent of the guys in the league who are young and black wear big chains. So I definitely don’t agree with that at all,” said the Warriors’ Stephen Jackson.

Some say the crackdown comes from the league wanting to change its image after a brawl ensued at an NBA game that involved Jackson’s former team, the Indiana Paces, and the home team Detroit Pistons in November 2004.

Jackson, as well as other teammates – most notably Ron Artest – went into the stands to fight fans after one fan threw a cup of beer on Artest. Some thought that change was needed because the NBA was beginning to look like a bunch of thugs.

But have any rights been violated? Should these players be allowed to wear whatever they want on or off the court?

Of course not. If Stern says so, then it must happen. Ultimately, the NBA is the employer and it has a company dress code that the players must follow. While some of the rules may be stupid (no arm bands above the elbow), it must be respected.

Besides, I had to follow a school dress code for 14 years of my life in Catholic schools and look how I turned out …