The Knicks' decision to wear their new orange alternate jerseys for Saturday night's home game against the Hawks resulted in a "jumble of blood red versus burnt orange that became an exercise in facial recognition,” according to Zach Schonbrun of the N.Y. TIMES. The NBA rule book states that the home team must wear light-colored jerseys, and the visitors dark jerseys, “unless otherwise approved.” This would “explain Atlanta’s uniform choice.” NBA Senior VP/Basketball Communications Tim Frank said, “Neither team was at fault. The Knicks orange has been designated as a light alternate home uniform. Going forward, we’ll ensure that the opponent wears a more distinguishing color uniform when the Knicks wear orange.” Schonbrun notes Saturday marked the fourth time the Knicks have worn the orange jerseys, and the team plans to "wear them at least six more times" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/18). ESPN’s George Karl said, "I don’t think we can do this again because if you’re color blind, you probably had a lot of problems. I think everybody had a little bit of a problem figuring out who was who” (“NBA Tonight,” ESPN2, 11/16). In N.Y., Frank Isola wrote the orange/red dynamic "made for tough viewing in person as well as on television, but this Knicks regime has never valued tradition as much as it values a marketing opportunity" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/17).
