Coaches voted by more than 2-to-1 margin to allow for wearing polo shirts courtside during gamesNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The NBA's protocols for the upcoming season "mandate that all coaches, including head coaches, wear masks at all times while coaching -- a change from the in-game mask policy during the league's summer restart in Florida," according to Wojnarowski & Lowe of ESPN.com. Sources said that the NBA and NBCA also "agreed to continue the practice of more casual game attire, no longer requiring coaches to wear sports jackets," adding that coaches "voted more than 2-to-1 ... to allow for wearing polo shirts in games." Sources indicated that coaches "must wear business attire, such as dress shirts, pants, socks and shoes." Wojnarowski & Lowe reported polo shirts "count as a dress shirt," though the NBA will "disallow sweat-pants and jogging pants." Most arenas will start this season without fans. The league's approving the polo look has the "potential of a polo staff facing off against a suit staff, a stylistic clash that concerns some coaches and will be the subject of more conversation between the coaches' association and the league." It is "expected that there would be coordination of attire, but those are scenarios that'll be worked out between now and the start of the season on Dec. 22" (ESPN.com, 12/8).
