Adidas defends the NBA All-Star Jerseys
By Ryan Donoho
The NBA released the jerseys that will be used in this year’s All-Star Game in New Orleans, and they are not pretty to say the least. Although they pay homage to the culture of New Orleans, they have those dreaded sleeves that the NBA continues to push on the league, and it has led to some backlash,
The league and Adidas continues to roll out these jerseys despite the backlash, and in an interview with Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports, Adidas explains why:
"If they’re not your cup of tea either, you might find yourself wondering why, exactly, the league and its official apparel partner are continuing to push the short-sleeved look, and particularly doing so on such high-profile showcase events as Christmas Day and the All-Star Game. The answer, as Chris Grancio presented it to me during a recent interview at a “preview” of the 2014 All-Star uniforms in New York, is twofold.“We spent a tremendous amount of time over the previous several years designing and building this,” said Grancio, global head of basketball sports marketing at Adidas. “We’ve done it in partnership with a ton of NBA teams and players. We really do believe that it doesn’t inhibit performance in any way. At all.”So the league and its teams are on-board, which is one reason we’re continuing to see the sleeves. The other?“[…] The success at retail also has been very good,” he added. “Consumers are voting, and they’re saying yes right now.”"
The whole point of the sleeved jersey is supposed to revolve around the fact that regular people would be more inclined to buy them. So far, all I’ve seen is negativity, and it’s puzzling to me why they continue to push this. Whether you like them or not, sleeved jerseys will be around for the foreseeable future. If you want them to go away, then stop purchasing them.
If you haven’t seen them yet, feast your eyes on these:
