Enough with the stupid race card!!!

As some of you may know, I am a rabid fan of the NBA. I am also a fan of the hip-hop culture (music, dress, history, etc.). I am also a fan of playing "the game" when conducting business and in business situations. Of course, this means if I plan to interview for a new job or am in a situation in which I am representing my employer, I have to actually "look" professional and wear a suit since that is "part of the game." Ok, that being said, the NBA has decided to institute a "dress code" of business casual for all public team functions and any NBA function. My point of this post is to dissect a portion of that new dress code--a section in the new dress code listing items players are not allowed to wear on team or league business includes "chains, pendants or medallions worn over the player's clothing." I am sure you have seen countless hip-hop videos or in your everyday life with these guys wearing 60K iced-out long necklaces dangling from their necks. It's not my style and I think it's pretty silly, but I don't have a problem with it in casual situations. You cannot walk into a job interview or meet with company VPs dressed like G-Unit unless you are a rap mogul or something like that because in that situation, that is essentially a uniform in their world. Anyway, I had to suffer through reading a recent article on espn.com that quotes the Pacers' Stephen Jackson describing the jewelry ban as "attacking young black males." GIVE ME A BREAK!!! This friggin millionaire just pulled the race card as is usually pulled inappropriately in situations like this. Grant it, he said he plans to not challenge the jewelry ban and the new dress code, but to say something like that is just ridiculous. Then you have functional illiterates who will hear (obviously will not be reading the story) this crap on the news and then take it upon themselves to remind every employer who imposes some sort of rule on them as "being racist." It's funny how Mr. Jackson can pull the race card in one breath and then say that guys have gotten sloppy with their dress in the other and thinking that the business casual is a move in the right direction.
With all the recent issues (hurricanes, riots, etc.) in the news, it's so easy for some ignorant people to just break out the race card and use it to help them in proving a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's a shame, really......