The Most Controversial Uniform Decisions in the Past 5 Years
Let’s face it—people hate change. They don’t like it, they don’t need it and they sure as heck don’t want it. Knee-jerk opposition to change is written in human DNA right next to the loving-bacon genes.
In the same way, Facebook is flooded with a billion complaints (give or take) every time a team launches a minor redesign. Every time a team changes its uniform, even on a temporary one-game basis, there’s serious potential for significant public outcry.
Of course, there is a difference between the run-of-the-mill ugly throwbacks and the uniforms powerful enough to turn a single garment into a national—or sometimes global—controversy. Here are some of the most controversial uniform decisions of the last five years.
UCLA's LA Steel Alternatives
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UCLA boasts some of the greatest classic uniforms in college football—in all of sports, even. Maybe they’ve become disenchanted with their chronically underachieving football team or something, because in July of 2014 they unveiled their new Adidas alternate uniform, “LA Steel.”
The Bruins wore the awful navy blue (wait, are those even blue?) overload ditties for their Homecoming game against Arizona in November. The fact that UCLA actually won the game softened the blow of the uniform’s ugliness to the eyeballs of everyone who watched the game. Except Arizona fans.
NBA Christmas Sleeves
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Every year, the NBA is showcased on Christmas Day, and in recent years, they’ve debuted interesting holiday jerseys for the occasion. The Lakers wearing all white and the Knicks wearing all orange is one thing, but these mesh sleeved monstrosities are something else altogether.
Nate Scott of USA Today’s ForTheWin section declared, “Sleeved jerseys are here to ruin NBA Christmas.” Scott also noted that Mavericks big man Dirk Nowitzki said they were “awful.” A V-neck tee with a beige bull head on the front? Yeah, that probably qualifies as awful.
NFL Pro Bowl Change
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Considering the public’s general sentiment on the Pro Bowl (as a completely useless thing that we all hate, but obviously still watch because it gets good ratings), it’s probably a stretch to classify anything surrounding it—including the goofy new uniforms that debuted in 2014—as controversial.
That being said, they certainly were polarizing. Said Jay Busbee of Yahoo! Sports, “Nike unveils new Pro Bowl uniforms and they’re…new.” Yep. That sounds about right. So much DayGlo!
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Vanderbilt's Anchor Down
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In August of 2014, the Vanderbilt University football team played their opening game of the season against Temple in jerseys in which the last names of the Commodores players were replaced with “Anchor Down.” Apparently jerseys with slogans on the back are prohibited by NCAA rules for all schools that are not military service academies.
According to ESPN, a miscommunication led to Vanderbilt wearing the jerseys and almost cost them some timeouts. In the second quarter of the game, a member of the officiating crew announced that the Commodores would be penalized a timeout for the supposed violation and would be docked another timeout for each quarter the offending jerseys were worn.
It was nuts, especially because Vanderbilt sought permission in advance, which was granted. Someone within the university then went frantically rushing to print out an email which backed up their assertion, at which point the referee restored the forfeited timeout and the game went on without incident.
Boise State's Blue out
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The Boise State football team is very well known for that blindingly blue turf that carpets Bronco Stadium. Controversial in its own right, at this point the turf has largely been accepted in the college football world.
In 2011, the Mountain West ruled Boise State could keep their goofy field, as long as they didn’t wear all-blue uniforms during home games. It was decided that all that blue amounted to an unfair competitive advantage for the Broncos at home and something had to give.
NBA Advertisement-Logged Jerseys
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The idea of selling advertising space on NBA jerseys has been discussed for years. Momentum was building for the new revenue stream in 2012, but talks were temporarily shelved due to the impending retirement of then-commissioner David Stern in order to address a succession plan.
At the time, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was very much in favor of the idea, as long as the price was right. Apparently the price was right in October of 2014, as it was announced that jersey ad revenue would be part of the $24 billion media deal the league made with Turner and ESPN.
The idea remains controversial and unpopular among fans, who are just going to have to get used to it.
Steelers Bumblebee Throwbacks
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The Steelers debuted their head-turning bumblebee throwbacks in October of 2012, and it’s safe to say that few uniforms have ever been met with such universal consternation. The general consensus among non-Steelers fans and the media was a resounding, “WTF? Yuck. Seriously though, WTF?”
Cornerback Ike Taylor was fond of them at the time, but then-Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton was less welcoming. “Sideways stripes don’t do me no good,” Hampton said. “Honestly, any uniform does me bad, so it can’t really get any worse than it already is.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Judging from fans in the stands at Heinz Field, at least some portion of Steelers Nation has embraced the absurdity of the jailhouse stripes, which are slightly less offensive without the spandex tan pants. Local opinion aside, the national temperature on the bumblebees hasn’t changed much in the last two years.
Florida State Gets a Makeover
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In April of 2014, Florida State football unveiled their new Nike-branded uniforms, a decision which had many people asking, “Um…why?” Phil Hecken of Uni-Watch.com said: “They weren’t broken, but [FSU] fixed them anyway.”
Well, apparently they actually broke them! After the Noles' opening game against Oklahoma State, the FSU athletic department was in damage-control mode after the redesign was declared DOA at a neutral field in Dallas.
Finally yielding after months of public outcry from the Florida State community, university officials announced a complete redesign of the redesign.
U.S. Speedskating Stalls
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In early 2014, the American speedskating team traveled to Russia to compete for the U.S. at the Sochi Olympics. Packed away in each member’s respective luggage was the “Mach 39,” a brand new skin-suit designed by Under Armour.
Athletes traveling with their uniforms is hardly a controversy, but the Mach 39 became a very hot topic of discussion after the Americans, who combined for 19 medals over the previous three Winter Games, “failed to put a skater inside the top six of any event with four races left.” It was revealed that, while the new suit had been tested in practice, it had never been worn prior to the Olympics in competition.
Perhaps the suit did have something to do with it, but it’s hard to rule out the possibility that the team was looking for a convenient scapegoat after a subpar performance. The issues with the suit couldn’t have been that bad, because less than a week later it was announced that deal with Under Armour “to provide U.S. Speedskating with uniforms” had been extended through 2022.
Maryland's Geographical Pride
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The University of Maryland has actually gone the ridiculous headline-generating uniform route a couple of times in the last few years. In September of 2011, they debuted the first of the bunch, which basically looked like a craft project—like someone ripped up state flags and jerseys and then stitched them back together. ESPN’s Michael Wilbon called them “brilliantly ugly.”
Two years later, they upped the Maryland-ness of the whole thing with the “pride uniforms,” which were similar to the first, but far more ostentatious. In September of 2014, the Terps went national with their pride, unveiling uniforms and helmets emblazoned with American flag pieces and the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner."
People seem to appreciate the spectacle of Maryland’s uniforms more than they did in 2011, because they don’t make nearly as many headlines. That doesn’t mean they aren’t increasingly ridiculous, though...because they are.
Columbia Women's Cycling Goes Nude
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In September of 2014, the entire world flipped out over the perceived (not actual) nudity of a women’s cycling team from Colombia. The edgy look generated countless headlines around the globe–headlines that ranged in tone from snide and tasteless to downright outraged.
Not to be outdone by ridiculous tabloid hyperbole, Brian Cookson, the president of the International Cycling Union, classified the uniforms as “unacceptable by any standard of decency.” Apparently all it takes is a nude-colored pelvic region to render a garment, which provides full coverage from neck to knee, obscene.
Still, it's hard to imagine that being the case if the cycling team was male.
Oregon's Constant Costume Changes
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University of Oregon football uniforms, which change every week (in fact, they change so often that sometimes you’d swear the Ducks had a costume change at halftime), really run the gamut. Over the course of a season, their unis range anywhere from generally acceptable to feloniously offensive.
Although as unpalatable as those banana yellow monstrosities are and as questionable as the decision to put feathers on the shoulders was, the real controversy is the university’s relationship with Nike, which foots the bill (see what I did there?) for Oregon’s weekly crimes against fashion.
Or at least it was. It’s been over five years since the University of Nike was born, and it seems like people are done caring about the deal, which runs through 2018.
Adidas Zubaz-Inspired Uniforms
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In early 2013, Adidas unveiled a limited-edition look for the men’s basketball teams from Cincinnati, Kansas, Notre Dame, Baylor, UCLA and Louisville. The uniforms were actually for the Big Ten Conference, but Indiana politely declined to get involved.
UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero probably wished he did, too, at least after the strongly worded emails began pouring in. Deadspin published them last year and kindly highlighted some of the best. They’re definitely worth checking out.
Notre Dame Goes Way Too Green
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This lime green nightmare Notre Dame sported in 2013 is actually part of the Adidas group from the previous slide, but they’re so horribly unpleasant and were stunningly unpopular that it only seemed right to give them their own place on the list.
Maybe that’s what NBC is always thinking when they renew their deal with Notre Dame that will probably keep every single one of their football games on national television until the end of time.
Northwestern Goes to War
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In November of 2013, Northwestern revealed a special one-off uniform for its game against Michigan, 10 percent of the sale proceeds from which would go to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. Generally speaking, it’s difficult to go wrong supporting the troops, but somehow they managed.
First of all, 10 percent isn’t a particularly impressive number for the donation—although it would’ve been better if the jerseys were something people would actually buy en masse, but American-flag remnants splattered in blood speaks to a very niche audience.
Many people were displeased, to say the least, deeming the jerseys more exploitative than patriotic.
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