Current:Home > NewsMLB's jersey controversy isn't the first uproar over new uniforms: Check out NBA, NFL gaffes -TrueNorth Capital Hub
MLB's jersey controversy isn't the first uproar over new uniforms: Check out NBA, NFL gaffes
View
Date:2025-04-13 13:23:09
Hall of Fame football player Deion Sanders once said, "If you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you play good.”
MLB players, however, are not feeling too good at the start of spring training following the release of Nike's new Vapor Premier uniform, which has been slammed by many players and the MLBPA for its poor quality.
"They cheaped it, cheap, cheap, cheap all the way down," pitcher Rich Hill said on the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast last week. “The quality has just gone out the window and I think that’s unfortunate.
The MLB is the latest professional sports league in the headlines over a jersey controversy, but it is not the first uproar over new uniforms and certainly won't be the last. Here's a look at some other uniform controversies:
THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY:Here's a look at the worst (and best!) alternate jerseys in sports
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
MLB's jerseys, 'see-through' pants look 'cheap'
The MLB unveiled its new Nike uniforms last week and they received less than stellar reviews. The jerseys, manufactured by Fanatics, are "engineered to improve mobility, moisture management and fit," MLB said, but the threads have drawn criticism over the cheap look, small lettering and limited customization options.
"It’s something that players have earned the right to work their entire life to get to this point and now just to be kind of a jersey off of the rack," Hill added. "There’s no difference between the average consumer buying that uniform and the major league player wearing that uniform, especially when it comes to certain measurements that the player should have.”
Philadelphia Phillies veteran reliever Jeff Hoffman compared the new jerseys to “a T-shirt or a gym shirt.”
“It looks like a replica,” Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward added, per The Athletic. “It feels kind of like papery. It could be great when you’re out there sweating, it may be breathable. But I haven’t had that opportunity yet to try that out. But from the looks of it, it doesn’t look like a $450 jersey."
MLB JERSEY CONTROVERSY:MLBPA says players are 'frustrated' and want it fixed before season
MORE FRUSTRATION: MLBPA says players concerned with see-through pants
It's not just the top half of the uniform that is drawing controversy. Another layer — or lack thereof — was added when players began to sport the full uniform for photo days, where it was easy to see the tucked in part of the jersey through the pants.
"A lot of the rhetoric is confirmation that the pants are see-through," MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said Thursday. "It's been an ongoing conversation where each day has yielded something new that doesn't seem to make as much sense as you would like it."
NBA's sleeved jerseys 'ugly,' 'awful,' 'not good'
The NBA rolled out sleeved jerseys in 2013, but the new uniforms didn't have the support of the league's biggest star. Lebron James said he's "not a big fan of the jerseys" because they limited his range of motion and restricted his shot.
"Every time I shoot it feels like it's just pulling right up underneath my arm. I already don't have much room for error on my jump shot. It's definitely not a good thing," James said in March 2014 following an off-night in the Heat's 111-87 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, where he shot 6-for-18 from the field and 0-for-three from three.
His displeasure for the sleeved jerseys carried into the next season after he returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. This time, however, James didn't need words. After missing a three-point shot during the Cavaliers' home matchup against the New York Knicks in November 2015, James ripped the sleeves off his form-fitting jersey. Cleveland went on to win 96-86, but James shot 9-for-23 from the field and 1-for-5 from three.
LEBRON JAMES tears open sleeves on too-tight jersey
James isn't the only one who took issue with the sleeved jerseys.
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry said they were "ugly jerseys" in 2013. Dirk Nowitzki didn't hold back on social media, writing on Christmas Day 2013, "Call me old school but these jerseys with sleeves are awful." Later that night, Robin Lopez said there "needs to be a mass burning of these sleeved nba jerseys."
The sleeved jerseys, which were created to boost merchandise sales by appealing to fans who opted for a comfortable, T-shirt feel versus a sleeveless jersey, were phased out in 2017 after the NBA's partnership with Adidas expired and the league signed with Nike.
NFL's contoured jerseys give lineman 'big ole love handles'
The NFL signed a partnership with Nike in 2012 to supply jerseys and apparel for the league following the league's deal with Reebok. Nike created a "body-contoured fit" jersey, which featured fabric with "four-way stretch capability providing players with a shrink-wrap type fit," a Buffalo Bills press release said.
Although the new jerseys were designed to increase speed, they didn't go over well with NFL lineman.
"There's not too much you can do with a tight jersey and tight pants," Green Bay Packers' DT B.J. Raji said at the time.
San Francisco 49ers guard Alex Boone added, "I hate them. They are built for thin guys. It makes me look like I have big old love handles. It makes me look fat, and I'm not fat."
veryGood! (7)
Related
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- An American Beach Story: When Property Rights Clash with the Rising Sea
- TSA expands controversial facial recognition program
- Pence officially files paperwork to run for president, kicking off 2024 bid
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- 300 Scientists Oppose Trump Nominee: ‘More Dangerous Than Climate Change is Lying’
- Whatever happened to the new no-patent COVID vaccine touted as a global game changer?
- So you haven't caught COVID yet. Does that mean you're a superdodger?
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- China, India Lead the Developing World in Green Building
Ranking
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Today’s Climate: June 2, 2010
- The Truth About Queen Camilla's Life Before She Ended Up With King Charles III
- After months, it's decided: Michiganders will vote on abortion rights in November
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Stacey Abrams is behind in the polls and looking to abortion rights to help her win
- In Wake of Gulf Spill, Louisiana Moves on Renewable Energy
- A new lawsuit is challenging Florida Medicaid's exclusion of transgender health care
Recommendation
Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
2016’s Record Heat Not Possible Without Global Warming, Study Says
Priyanka Chopra Shares How Nick Jonas “Sealed the Deal” by Writing a Song for Her
3 Republican Former EPA Heads Rebuke Trump EPA on Climate Policy & Science
Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
Whatever happened to the Indonesian rehab that didn't insist on abstinence?
Vanderpump Rules Alum Kristen Doute Weighs In on Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ Affair
Second plane carrying migrants lands in Sacramento; officials say Florida was involved