In the past few years MLB has held a weekend where players can express themselves with self designed cleats and other pieces of equipment, much of which is tied to cause. The NFL has selected one weekend every season for the popular “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign, which raises thousands of dollars for the cause of choice for players and gets some great exposure. For the NBA, for the most part, self-expression on footwear is called Tuesday, or game day. Not one day a year.
The differences in league style were looked at in a New York Times piece this week which looked at the issues that a player like Odell Beckham Jr. has in marketing to an audience and is subject to fines, while a player like the Nets Spencer Dinwiddie can literally design 82 different sets of game shoes during an NBA season and not only build his brand, but call attention to themes bigger than the game, with limited provocation.
While many may debate whether this is one league being more open minded on marketing or not, it really is a question more of culture and direction from leadership. The NBA sees the value in giving players their freedom of expression; the NFL, and MLB in many ways, sees for right now the value is in keeping things literally more uniform. That comes not from being in a vacuum; it comes from listening to the core fan, the brand partners and other stake holders who still like the traditions and the uniformity. It’s a slightly different demo.
Personally, the self-expression of the NBA, within limits and understanding how the boundaries can be pushed and held in areas like wearing a watch on the field or getting some ancillary cash for some risqué brand, needs to be watched closely. For years in the NHL, a sport where the self-expression during games is even more limiting than the other pro sports leagues in North America, has been held to the design of goalie masks. Why don’t more players push to use their helmets in hockey, which are pretty benign, for some artwork at an event like The Winter Classic. Why doesn’t Minor League Baseball use batting helmets as a form of self-expression (the changing of uniforms for promotion is certainly well established), with money going to causes. Why hasn’t the G League looked for self-designed uniforms, or going to local arts programs to encourage design? How will a disruptive league like the XFL weigh their options with player expression, as at one point they were the league of “He Hate Me.”
Yes it can spin out of control without proper guidelines, and there always will be someone looking to make a quick buck. It’s certainly not easy just to change a doctrine that is time honored in tradition like the NFL is; it comes in small bytes and for the outside world that views such things through the prism of the NBA, a league which is thought to be more player brand first, the criticism is easy. There is a happy medium for more than a weekend a year for both MLB and the NFL, and it will probably come at some point, but for now, the sneaker culture of the NBA presents opportunity, while the tradition of the NFL presents challenges for the self-expressive.
That’s the way the ball is bouncing.
