NBA Bans 'Ninja-Style Headwear' For 2019 Season

By Liam McKeone | Sep 09 2019

The NBA may be the coolest of the four major American sports leagues, but it remains a bureaucracy where change is slow-coming and everything must go through a process. We were all reminded of this on Monday as the NBA has banned “ninja-style headbands” from the floor ahead of the 2019 season.

The NBA notified teams that it won't allow players to wear "ninja-style headwear" this season, NBA spokesman Mike Bass tells ESPN. The headwear "...hasn't been through the league approval process. Teams have raised concerns regarding safety and consistency of size, length ..."
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 9, 2019

Bass: "When some players began wearing them last season, we didn't want to cause a disruption by intervening midseason..." NBA notified teams in May that the headwear "would not be a part of this seasons uniforms." https://t.co/23IjTaoT8v
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 9, 2019

Competition Committee is discussing issue in meetings today. As Bass said, teams raised concern about size, length "how they are tied which requires a thorough review before consideration of any rule change." Among players who wore them: Jimmy Butler, Jrue Holiday, Jarrett Allen. https://t.co/Agak7SLS9V
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 9, 2019

Players such as De'Aaron Fox and Mike Scott made usage of these ninja-style headbands popular. For my two cents, I cannot imagine what teams could possibly be complaining about. No one is going to wear a headband so long it causes safety issues. And how long could a review take of “how they are tied”? What does that even mean? Will the NBA only accept a Windsor knot?

Seems like a dumb thing to be getting worked up over, especially given the NBA is viewed as the most progressive of the leagues. This is something the NFL would pull. Let the kids play!