because your friends aren't publicly seen role models. You pay a guy a couple million of dollars and all you ask of him is to play the game and dress accordingly while your portraying the image of the NBA, yes they are portraying the image of the NBA when they are out. You don't just call him Kobe Bryant, you call him the basketball player, and when you associate a basketball player with a league it's the NBA. What it basically boils down to is what kind of image the NBA wants to make for itself by intituting a dress code. They want their players to look professional does that mean they want them to act professional, that isn't a requirement. It's just clothes, and I think you guys are getting a bit too hyped up over a dress code that doesn't even affect you. Free speech and expression through clothing is fine, but when you get paid to fly to other arenas to play a sport you should follow their rules because they are paying you a ridiculous amount to go play a game you love not vice versa. The players are a representative of the NBA and if the NBA wants it's representatives to look professional so be it.

This is all I'm going to say and if you guys want to suck each others dicks about how I am wrong go right ahead.