From the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Nolan allowed to wear suit for eight home games.
This is an article from June, but it is worth discussing.
Mike Nolan, the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, along with Jack Del Rio of the Jacksonville Jaguars, had to ask permission from the National Football League to wear a suit on the sidelines for a couple games last season. Nolan did it in part as a tribute to his father, and his reason for wanting to wear a suit is really nice, but irrelevant.
He will wear one for the Niners' eight home games this season, a compromise reached with the league. It's a little unclear to me, and Mike Nolan, apparently, whose decision this is to make, but it seems like it should be Mike Nolan's, not Reebok's or the NFL's.
What the hell does Reebok lose if one coach or all coaches on every team wear suits? What if Nolan wears an Armani suit instead of the ones Reebok designed for he and Del Rio last season? The Reebok logo is everywhere already. What is wrong with wanting to look professional? Coaching football is Nolan's job, after all.
Since it looks like it's the NFL's decision, it's ridiculous that any league would prohibit its coaches from presenting themselves as well-groomed professionals.
The NBA has a stupid, stupid rule which disallows players from wearing headbands, and the league makes them wear suits on the bench when they are inactive, because David Stern wants the players to look respectable in the wake of several image problems. The headband rule is ridiculous and won't solve any of the NBA's problems with image or conduct, but the NBA's suit rule is, at most, a silly inconvenience.
Major League Baseball still employs an old rule requiring managers and coaches to wear game uniforms, because only someone wearing a uniform may enter the field. I kinda like that one; it works for baseball.
But the NFL has no right to tell Mike Nolan or any other coach that they are not allowed to wear a suit, at any function. Do they want to be the league helmed by slobs? Even as a fan, I'm going to respect a man who's dressed for business, because I know he means business. The players, I assume, think the same.
1 comment:
Totally agree. Not only is it cool to wear a suit, it's actually an old tradition. Bear Bryant and Vince Lombardi didn't wear ripped up fucking heather gray hoodies like that slob in New England (which makes me think he wears the oversized ripped hoodie to conceal his wire/cameras used to cheat). That looks HORRIBLE.
Reebok should also shut the hell up - you are right, their logo is everywhere already. Besides, no one sees the label. If they really need support, wouldnt a nice lapel pin work? I think the Cincy Bearcats coach used to do this with a Jordan pin before he too turned into a slob/was fired.
In similar athletic brand news, Nike is cracking down on Ohio State athletics because one football player wore a noticeable Under Armor logo in a press conference. Now they are saying that players can't even wear the under armour and cover the logo with a nike one - a concept called "spatting," named for the covering of shoe logos popular in european soccer. (you really think ALL the German Natl team players want to wear adidas?) You can read about that here: http://www.theotherpaper.com/top9-20/substory2.htm
And on the subject of European soccer - the coaches there wear suits quite commonly. And you know what? They look like they know what they are talking about.
-Mark
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