Mike Scott wasn’t lying when he said on Twitter that the NBA would not allow players to wear ninja-style headbands for the upcoming season.
Scott, a forward for the Philadelphia 76ers, suggested on Twitter that Nike had put an end to players wearing the headbands during games.
Scott, along with others like the LA Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell, the New Orleans Pelicans’ Jrue Holiday, and the Sacramento Kings’ DeAaron Fox, wore the headbands last year.
The NBA told Larry Brown Sports in a statement that the league did not address the matter last season because they did not want to “cause a disruption by intervening mid-season.” The league also specified to LBS that the ninja-style headbands have not been banned but rather they have not been approved yet.
“The ninja-style headwear is not part of the NBA uniform and hasn’t been through the league approval process,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement shared with Larry Brown Sports. “Teams have raised concerns regarding safety and consistency of size, length and how they are tied which requires a thorough review before consideration of any rule change. When some players began wearing them last season, we didn’t want to cause a disruption by intervening mid-season, but we notified our teams in May that they would not be part of this season’s uniforms.”
Blake Griffin had a few laughs over the story:
i love that someone at the nba had to type the words “ninja-style hardware” and “consistency of size and length” as their job today https://t.co/n70otsakt1
— Blake Griffin (@blakegriffin23) September 9, 2019
So while the ninja headbands won’t be around next season, that does not mean it’s goodbye forever. Perhaps Nike and the league will work together to create an approved headband.
